Cooperation Gets it Done

Kaskaskia Watershed Association, Inc, Summit 2003

Lake: Lake Shelbyville, IL

Partners: USACE; Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation and Development, Inc.; Stakeholders of Kaskaskia Watershed

Partnership Type: Association/Partnership, KWA Stakeholders, Federal, State and Local Governments

Corps POC: Robert Wilkins, Project Manager Carlyle Lake/Kaskaskia Navigation Project; Ricky Raymond, Project Manager Lake Shelbyville

Story: Kaskaskia Watershed Association, Inc. (KWA) started meeting together in 1996 and incorporated and received their not-for-profit status in 2002. Their goal is to develop, enhance, and protect the economic and socio-ecological values of the natural resources within the Kaskaskia watershed. Four major areas form the KWA from the headwaters of the Kaskaskia River at Champaign to the confluence of the Mississippi River. The watershed itself is very diverse but the stakeholder’s goals are the same: recreation, flood damage reduction, water supply, industry, navigation, economic development, ecosystems, and fish and wildlife. Working together, the coalition will be able to combine resources of people, past investments, and existing economics and programs to further their goals and objectives in enhancing and preserving the watershed. The Kaskaskia River Watershed basin covers 3,677,785 acres, represents 10.2 percent of surface area of Illinois, includes 22 counties, 19 tributaries, and 3 federal projects: Lake Shelbyville, Carlyle Lake, and Kaskaskia Navigation Project. In 2000 Kaskaskia River Watershed was selected to participate in the Federal Lakes Recreation Demonstration Laboratory and in 2002 was selected for the Benefits Based Recreation Study. For three years the KWA has held summits to bring together federal, State, and local government agencies and elected officials to highlight their objectives in the watershed.

Kaskaskia River Information