Illinois Water TrailKeepers (WTK) is a joint project of Openlands and the Illinois Paddling Council (IPC).
The project will create a corps of stewards for designated watertrails in Illinois.During the 2008 season Illinois Water TrailKeepers will monitor and maintain seven watertrails in nine counties in northern Illinois
totalling nearly 350 river miles.These are the 2008 season TrailKeeper adopted watertrails:
- North Branch of the Chicago River
- Little Calumet River
- Salt Creek
- Des Plaines River (from the Wisconsin border to McKinley Woods Forest Preserve)
- Fox River (in McHenry, Lake, Kane and Kendall Counties)
- DuPage River (including the West Branch and East Branch)
- Kishwaukee River (in Boone & Winnebago Counties)
Openlands sponsors the TrailKeeper Stewardship program. “Reach Stewards” take responsibility for a reach of an adopted watertrail.
Reach Stewards monitor and report on trail conditions. They maintain the trail by conducting on-the-water, bank and site clean-ups.
Reach Stewards may also advocate for the development and improvement of their reach and the watertrail. Reach Stewards may recruit and coordinate the work of Reach and Trail Volunteers and other individuals and groups on their reach.A Trail Steward takes responsibility for an entire watertrail. The Trail Steward manages the Reach Stewards and coordinates their work.
The Trail Steward also coordinates the removal of larger obstructions and human hazards with the local authorities (if any) or with the
TrailKeepers In-Stream Maintainance Crews.
The work of the Trail Stewards is coordinated by Gary Mechanic for the Openlands TrailKeepers Program Manager Laura Barghusen.
The Illinois Paddling Council (IPC) sponsors the TrailKeepers “In-Stream Maintenance” crews who also maintain watertrails on
smaller streams in Cook and Lake Counties by clearing obstructions and hazards in a safe and environmentally sensitive way.During the 2008 season, one crew will work on the Cook County portions of Salt Creek while a second crew will work on the
upper Des Plaines River in Lake County and North Branch of the Chicago River in Cook County. The work of the In-Stream Maintenance
Crews are coordinated by the Conservation Chair of the IPC Tom Richardson.The Illinois Paddling Council would like to acknowledge the generous support of the American Canoe Association and the ACA/LL Bean
Club Fostered Stewardship grant program which helped equip the In-Stream Maintenance Crews with safety gear, waders and hand tools.
You don't have to be a TrailKeeper to help your favorite watertrail. Paddlers can be the eyes and ears for TrailKeeper stewards by reporting deadfall, strainers and dangerous obstructions. To report a human hazard on the watertrails listed above click here to report a watertrail problem
See a list of Watertrail Reaches and Stewards
Read the Reach Steward job description
Volunteer to be a Reach Steward
Volunteer to be an In-Stream Crew member
Volunteer to be a reach or watertrail volunteer
Read the Trail Steward job description
Assumption of Risk & Indemnification form
See a map of Northeastern Illinois watertrails
In-Stream Maintenance Crew Workday Schedules
Read an article about the IPC's Water TrailKeeper In-Stream Maintenance Crew
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