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Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 by Executive Order 7524, which authorized the purchase of lands owned by the defunct Chautauqua Drainage and Levee District. The refuge extends from Illinois River mile 124.0 to 129.5. It is an important link in the chain of resting, feeding, and wintering areas for waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Mississippi Flyway. Under pristine conditions, this segment of the Illinois River floodplain was composed of a series of backwater lakes. In the early 1900s, like many floodplain wetlands, the area was diked, drained, and converted for agricultural production. During the 1930s, a series of navigation locks and dams were built on the Illinois River for barge traffic. Commercial navigation and the diversion of Lake Michigan water down the Illinois River exacerbated the effects of agricultural uses by raising the low mean water levels by about four feet. Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge is the headquarters of the Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex, which includes Emiquon and Meredosia refuges.
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