their watercraft down river. However, the Cache provided excellent hunting and fishing, and abundant timber. Belknap, IL resident W. Marshall stated that the Cache River Basin was “good country for men and dogs, but powerful trying on women and oxen.” Between 1810 and 1890 timber harvesting became a major industry in the Cache basin, Cypress wood was sought for its lightness and water-resistant properties. The small towns on the edge of the swamp experienced a small boom during this period. Several sawmills and small factories sprung up to process timber for lumber, railroad ties, charcoal, and packing crates and boxes. Drainage and diversion After most of the accessible timber was cut, local industry shifted to agriculture, and a program of diversion and draining began. The landscape changed dramatically, largely due to a diversion channel that was cut to connect the Cache and the nearby Ohio River. Completed in 1916, the Post Creek Cutoff divided the Cache into two watersheds: the Upper Cache, which drains down the diversion channel to the Ohio, and the Lower Cache, which drains to the original outlet on the Mississippi River. In 1952, the Karnak levee was constructed, further cementing the division between the two rivers. In 1950, about north of the Cache's natural mouth at the Ohio River, a diversion channel was created to connect the Cache and Mississippi rivers. Those last of the Cache continue to drain into the Ohio through the original channel. In 2002, the levee dividing the Post Creek Cutoff and the Lower Cache suffered a catastrophic failure during the spring flood season. The failure of the levee has resulted in dropping water levels in the Lower Cache. An interesting effect of this diversion is that in times of high water direction of flow on the lower Cache reverses, flowing east to the diversion channel. When the water level in the lower Cache drops below the diversion channel level, flow resumes its westerly travel to the Mississippi. Also, because of the breach, this section of the Cache is exposed to increased risk from flooding. The future of the levee remains uncertain. Management of the levee falls to Big Creek Drainage District No. 2. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers no longer considers the levee in its programs, making it ineligible for federal funding. The Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership (composed of Ducks Unlimited, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources