Welcome to Rend Lake!

Illinois' first conservancy district has many partners and benefits this southern region through tourism, health care, economic development and education

BY KEVIN DAVIS

Millions visit annually. Some golf, others boat, camp, hunt, hike and horseback ride. Whatever their reason for coming, most of the three-million-plus visitors to Rend Lake do not know the uniqueness of the partnership that created the area, or its heritage and impact on Southern Illinois.

History

In the 1950s, Southern Illinois experienced a three-year drought that practically broke the back of the economy. Even though the area is located between two of the nation's great rivers and crisscrossed by rivers and creeks, ground water is scarce. When water supplies reached a critical low, waterworks operators from towns in the drought area met to find a solution. From this, an association to pursue the construction of a large water supply lake was formed. The proposed lake was named "Rend," after a nearby ghost town founded by Colonel Rend, a local coal mine operator.

The Rend Lake Association made numerous attempts to raise adequate funding for the project. However, the financial burden of building a large, man-made lake, was too great for local communities. As luck would have it, an association member came across a conservancy law, drafted in 1925, which had never been used.

Traditionally, conservancy districts are developed out of the need for collective action to control floods. They allow citizens within a watershed (the region drained by a river) to create a local unit of government to control flood water. Their purpose was expanded during drought years to include storage of flood waters in man-made reservoirs.

In the spring of 1954, the Big Muddy Watershed, through the efforts of the Rend Lake Association, petitioned for election the following year. In 1955, the proposal passed and the Rend Lake Conservancy District became the first such district in Illinois. Under the Conservancy District Act, Rend Lake has powers similar to municipalities, including the right of eminent domain. They have the power to issue bonds, assess taxes and enter into contracts with other governmental agencies.

Conferences and studies involving agencies other than the Rend Lake Association were ongoing from the start. The State of Illinois funded preliminary engineering studies, land acquisition and highway relocation. Numerous state agencies and two universities worked to advance the planning portion of the lake project.

Federal funding for the project was slow to arrive. By 1963, the conservancy district, the State of Illinois and the federal government jointly entered into a contract for a feasibility study of an inter-city water system, which was incorporated into plans for the lake's development. In November 1967, contracts were let by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of the Rend Lake dam and reservoir. The federal act that allowed its construction also called for recreational development around the lake. Such demands on a sparsely populated region resulted in a unique combination of local, state and federal management, which is the backbone of Rend Lake's success and its diversity.

A Unique Partnership

"You won't find an entity in the world that is similar to ours with respect to its management," says Kevin Davis, general manager of the Rend Lake Conser-

10 | Illinois Parks and Recreation

WELCOME TO REND LAKE!

vancy District.

Working for the common good of Southern Illinois, several partners manage, maintain and develop the 18,900-acre Rend Lake and 21,000 acres of surrounding public lands. Primary among the many businesses and agencies involved in promoting Rend Lake are the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Rend Lake Conservancy District.

"The cooperation between the three agencies-federal, state and local-makes Rend Lake the most successful lake in the Midwest," says Ralph Hamilton, site superintendent of Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, a facility located within the Rend Lake Conservancy District and one of the state's major contributions to the area.

"Each of us bring special abilities and interests in terms of developing, marketing, preservation and other such activities. The synergy created by these combinations make Rend Lake a fine example of agency cooperation for the optimum public service."

Rend Lake is surrounded by the 3,300-acre Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, an excellent area for hunting, fishing, boating, swimming, camping and picnicking. Also located in the park is the Rend Lake Resort, which provides cabins and "boatel" (a lake-side hotel) rental suites, a hotel and convention center, gasoline for boats, courtesy boat launches and dock slips. In addition, numerous camp-grounds-from primitive to paved with electric hook-ups-are available throughout the park.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers play an important role in managing both public hunting and non-hunting wildlife areas at Rend Lake. The state maintains a goose refuge and two nature preserves with provisions for crop-planting to feed upland game. About 5,000 acres of prime waterfowl habitat is also managed by the state.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the management of Rend Lake's 18,900 acres of water and 20,000 acres of surrounding lands. Their natural resource management personnel strive to provide high quality outdoor recreational lands and waters for fish and wildlife. A comprehensive wildlife management program provides habitat for waterfowl, upland game and non-game species.

Beside its obvious interest in wildlife management, the Corps manages more than 800 campsites, two public beaches, hiking and nature trails, lakeside picnicking facilities, and a marina on Rend Lake. The Dale Miller Youth area is available for group camping.

"Of over 440 Corps of Engineers lakes throughout the United States, Rend Lake stands as the only one with a managing partner from the local region, the Rend Lake Conservancy District," says Phillip K. Jenkins, project manager, Rend Lake Project Office, U.S. Department of the Army

"This relationship makes Rend Lake uniquely joined to the needs and opportunity of the local communities, and creates a cooperation that has not been duplicated."

Agency cooperation extends beyond the Rend Lake Conservancy District and the state and federal governments. Among the many businesses and agencies involved in Rend Lake promotions are the BentonArea Chamber of Commerce, Franklin County Board, Rend Lake Resort, Mt. Vernon Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rend Lake College, Franklin County Tourism Bureau, Franklin County Sheriffs Department, Seasons Lodge & Restaurant at Rend Lake, and the Southern Illinois Artisans Shop & Visitors Center.

Providing Water and Recreation

Water provisions is the primary responsibility of the Rend Lake Conservancy District. It manages the Inter-city Water System and wastewater treatment facility, which serves more than 300,000 people in the seven surrounding counties, reaching more than 60 communities. Among the benefits is the guarantee of an abundant water supply and increased industrial development, which ultimately provides thousands of jobs and several millions of dollars in tax revenues annually.

If providing water is the heart of the district, then providing fun, outdoor activities is the soul. In addition to the aforementioned hunting, hiking, camping and boating areas, the Rend Lake Recreational Complex features several unique recreational venues.

It is home to the Rend Lake Golf Course, a 27-hole complex designed by renown Chicago architect Lawrence A. Packard for golfers of all skill levels. A state-of-the-art, lighted driving range and practice facility opened in 1995.

The Rend Lake Shooting Complex is considered the most challenging and innovative shooting facility in the Midwest. Its features include a 38-station sporting clay range with towers, elevated stands, ponds, watershots and concrete cart paths; a three-dimensional archery range with 20 targets; and 10 pits with fully automated pat traps.

Conclusion

To a region with a past laden with water shortages, droughts and lost opportunity, the Rend Lake Conservancy District is providing much more than water. Working with numerous affiliated organizations, the Rend Lake Conservancy District is able to positively affect tourism, health care, economic development, education and rural affairs.

"We look at the impact of Rend Lake on the entire region and strive to maximize its benefits to the people in Southern Illinois," says Davis.

KEVIN DAVIS
is the general manager of the Rend Lake Conservancy District. For more information, call 800.999.0977.

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