FIXED BRIDGE MAKES CACHE RIVER WETLANDS ACCESSIBLE

BELKNAP, Ill. -- Herrin Pond is more accessible to hikers these days.

A bridge over Cache River, which has been "out" more than two years, has been repaired and is now open.

"This saves about five miles of hiking," said Jean Hinkle, of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Hikers will cross over the bridge Saturday during a "tree-identification" walk in the Cache River Wetlands of Southern Illinois.

Participants in the free, special hike, from Belknap in the Herrin Pond area, will have the opportunity to see and identify a number of trees -- cypress, gum, musclewood, shaggybark and sugarberry.

"A lot of people have never seen some of these trees," said Hinkle, who works out of the Cache River Wetlands office, located at Shawnee Community College near Ullin.

Visitors will meet at the wetlands office at 9 a.m.

To reach the office from Cape Girardeau, motorists can follow Illinois 3 to McClure, the Grapevine Trail to Tamms, and Route 127 north to the Ullin Blacktop, turning right into Ullin. Turn left on Highway 51 at Ullin to a blacktop just south of Ullin, and turn east on the blacktop that leads to the college.

The meeting is one of two concerning Cache River Basin scheduled at the college in early August.

A special hunting orientation meeting will be held next week at the wetlands office.

Both hunting and fishing are allowed in the preserve.

Hunters who plan to hunt in the Cache River Wetlands, are invited to attend the meeting, set at 7 p.m. Aug. 6, said Hinkle.

"The program will highlight area regulations and boundaries," she said. "Hunting maps and brochures will be available."

The Cache River in the Ullin, Cypress and Belknap area has been described as "an ecological jewell," including 1,500-year-old cypress trees, and number of endangered animal and insects.

The area is home to more than 250 species of birds. Fifty-six of the state's endangered and threatened species can be found within the cypress swamp.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited, and the Nature Conservancy teamed up to form the Cache River Wetlands in a project that dates back to the late 1960s, when the first parcel of land was obtained.

The joint venture partnership was formed in 1988, and the refuge was formally dedicated in 1990.

The Cache River was officially designated as a "Wetland of International Importance" during a special ceremony at Shawnee Community College in 1996.

The Cache River Basin was the 15th wetlands area in the U.S. to be recognized for the special designation, joining such sites as Everglade National Park, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Complex on the list.