The JDCF purchased this 85 acre property in 2007 from
Dave and Pat Casper for the purpose of preserving
the highly significant natural and archeological resources
found there. Not only does Casper Bluff boast some
of the most commanding views of the Mississippi River
and its back water sloughs, it is also home to the
Aiken Mound Group which consists of 51 burial mounds
including the only known existing bird effigy mound
in the state of Illinois.
The site also provides
habitat for a variety of species such as the red-headed
wood pecker, eastern bluebird, wood duck, and blue
winged warbler. With its recent designation as a registered
Illinois Land & Water Reserve, the scenic and
historical features found at Casper Bluff will be
permanently protected.
Land & Water
Reserves are designated by the Illinois Nature Preserves
Commission under a nationally acclaimed program called
the Illinois Nature Preserves System to protect our
state’s most rare, natural areas. These last
remaining remnants of our state’s natural heritage
are almost all that is left of the way the state looked
in the early 1880s. Today, less than 0.1% of the landscape
remains as it did when first seen by Illinois’
early settlers.
Permanently protected
by state law, nature preserves are private and public
lands that have rare plants, animals, or other unique
natural features. Ranging in size from one acre to
more than 2,000 acres, nature preserves protect tall
grass prairies, oak groves, sandstone bluffs, wetlands,
bogs and other threatened natural areas. These lands
are the last remnants of the Illinois wilderness.
Without this protection, many of these exceptional
areas would be lost forever. Currently, nature preserves
protect over 900 occurrences of endangered and threatened
plants and animals. In fact, more than 20% of all
Illinois endangered species are in state dedicated
nature preserves.
Directions:
Blackjack Road South out of Galena, turn right on
South Pilot Knob Road
A
young visitor enjoys the view from the Casper Bluff
Land & Water Reserve.
Casper
Bluff during a stormy day.
