Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area

Infobox_protected_area | name = Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area, Illinois, USA
iucn_category = V


caption = Map of the U.S. state of Illinois showing the location of Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
locator_x = 172
locator_y = 313
location = Franklin and Jefferson Counties, Illinois, USA
nearest_city = Benton, Illinois
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 06
lat_seconds = 22
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 88
long_minutes = 56
long_seconds = 18
long_direction = W
area = convert|3300|acre|km2|2|lk=on
established = 1975
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesThe Wayne Fitzgerell State Recreation Area is a 3,300-acre (13.4 km²) state park bordering Rend Lake near Benton, Illinois. The state park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to concentrate on shoreline recreation, including boating, fishing, and picnicking.

After Rend Lake was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1970, much of the land acquired by the Army Corps for dam and reservoir construction was available for open-space use. Starting in 1975, the Army Corps leased the Wayne Fitzgerell parcel of land to the state of Illinois. The state park is named for Wayne Fitzgerell, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from nearby Wayne County in the 70th through 74th General Assemblies. Fitzgerell had been one of the local leaders who had called for the damming of the Big Muddy River and creation of Rend Lake.

Wayne Fitzgerell was originally dedicated as a state park but changed its name in the 1990s to reflect its identity as a space managed for sportsmen. 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) of the park is consciously managed for the hunting of deer, upland birds such as pheasants, and small game.

The park is a focus of public access to Rend Lake, which is managed for the fishing of largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, and crappie.

Wayne Fitzgerell is one of the few state parks in Illinois which is bisected by a limited-access highway, Interstate 57. Many visitors to the park use I-57's Exit 77, near the park's headquarters at Whittington, Illinois.

External links

* [http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/PARKS/R5/wayne.htm Illinois Department of Natural Resources - Wayne Fitzgerell]