MIKE MILLER
There are places in central Illinois where the view to the horizon seems to stretch on to infinity. A drive through Stark County along Route 40 towards Bradford will take you past a small “rest area” where the view stretches on for miles in any direction you gaze. This travel wayside is the final resting area of a historic pony truss bridge. Once there were 10,000 such bridges across Illinois. Most have been relegated to the scrapyard and replaced. This one has found a home in a very interesting location: It now sits at the top of two separate watersheds. Rain that falls east of the bridge will eventually find its way to the Illinois River through Crow Creek south of Henry. Rain that falls west of the bridge will eventually meander to the Illinois River via the Spoon River near Havana. It’s an ironic destination for a bridge, considering that there really isn’t a meaningful creek for it to span given its present perch atop of the divide of the two watersheds. It does however enjoy a spectacular view that bridges are seldomly accustomed to.
Central Illinois has several areas where these vast views can be found. Similar vistas can be seen in both western and eastern Marshall County, western Peoria County, southeastern Tazewell County, and southern McLean County. These areas are all headwaters of their respective watersheds. Today they are some of the richest and most productive agricultural areas on the planet. Once the corn is harvested, the unobstructed view is of a vast landscape that seems to stretch on forever. A quilt work of farm fields stretches out to the distant horizon.
Prior to the agricultural revolution, vast prairies were part of this landscape. These prairies would also be populated with numerous prairie potholes, also known as ephemeral wetlands. It takes time for water to decide where it will eventually flow. Pools once formed in the spring rains, creating wet areas that would eventually dry up as summer approaches. The water in these wetlands would eventually find their way to creeks to supply a steady flow throughout the year. Healthy ephemeral wetlands were crucial for the ecological integrity of the rest of the watershed that fed the major rivers.
Most of these wetlands were altered over time. Agricultural drainage tiles were usually added to help these areas dry out so that they could be planted in row crops early in the growing season. This results in increased waterflow in small streams as they gather the increased flow from the top of the watershed. Creeks that once experienced year-round water flow that the ephemeral wetlands slowly released now become torrents during wet periods, and bone dry in summer. The aquatic life that once thrived in these streams has disappeared. For as far as the eye can see, the hydrology has been altered. It is ironic that the vast views afforded to one that scans the Illinois landscape is overshadowed by our shortsightedness when it comes to the role water plays in the landscape.
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