CHANDLERVILLE, Ill. – Feb. 2, 2010 – Ducks Unlimited closed on the third conservation easement in Illinois with Richardson Farms Outfitters. The 426-acre property is directly adjacent to and used to be part of the Bushnell Rod and Gun Club, a property that DU sold to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources earlier this year. The completion of this easement marks more than 1,100 acres adjacent to the Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area that Ducks Unlimited has had a hand in protecting. The Richardson Farms easement contains approximately one mile of Illinois River frontage and its featured resource is Sangamon Bay—a 175-acre backwater lake of the Illinois River. The far north end of the property was previously cropped and has since been enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This property is located within the largest area of "wilderness-like" wetland habitat remaining in the Illinois River valley. It is unique in that it has some water management capabilities for enhancing aquatic wetland plant growth and production at Sangamon Bay. A portion of the property is managed as a private refuge which further enhances its value to waterfowl. This project was made possible with a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.