Banner Marsh

Banner Marsh is an Illinois Department of Natural Resources state fish and wildlife area south of Pekin, Illinois. The property was once a strip mine. This is a pilot project to help determine the feasibility of using soil dredged while restoring depth to backwater lakes at sites in need of good topsoil.

The pilot project was funded by a donation from ARTCO Fleeting and a grant from the office of Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn.

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July 15, 2004. Banner Marsh. IDNR site managers discuss site preparation and dredged material placement with the contractor. The placement field has poor soil that is filled with rocks and overburden from strip mining. It was covered with alfalfa that was disked prior to project initiation so that the sediment would be in direct contact with the original base material. The nearby pond supports lily pads and other aquatic plants.

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July 16, 2004. East Peoria. A hydraulic clamshell bucket on an excavator arm removes soil from Lower Peoria Lake near Spindler Marina. It is able to pick up the mud with little free water.

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July 22, 2004. Banner Marsh. The barge was unloaded at the CF Industries dock near Kingstom mines about 18 river miles from Spindler marina. Heinz Bros. Trucking supplied a fleet of eight trucks to haul the mud five miles along route 24 from the unloading dock to the field. IDNR site managers prepared plywood boxes to hold the mud at four and two foot depths for monitoring drying and the development of soil structure.

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July 23, 2004. Banner Marsh. A barge loaded several weeks earlier sported a healthy growth of weeds and tree seedlings. Samples were taken and a press conference was held that afternoon. IDNR director Joel Brunsvold officiated.

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August 17, 2004. Banner Marsh. Dr. Robert Darmody, a University of Illinois soil scientist, visited the site to install sensors in the plywood boxes. The sensors measure soil temperature and moisture content at various depths in the sediment several times a day. They also record air temperature and rainfall. The data will be combined with other observations as the mud develops soil structure. The information will be valuable for future large-scale projects.

The first six inches of the mud piles had dried and the cracks had sharply defined edges. The mud was still soft at a depth of 6 to 8 inches. It had rained little since placement.

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September 14, 2004. Banner Marsh. Researchers again visit the site. A variety of measurements were taken. The drying blocks of sediment were firm to about 12 inches. The edges of the cracks were wearing where material had flaked off. Small cracks were visible near the tops of the blocks and dry material would crumble if struck with a shoe or trowel. This is the early stage of the formation of granular soil structure.