For 18 years we have worked to conserve and restore natural resources in the Illinois River Watershed.
Get to Know IRWP
Our Mission
The Illinois River Watershed Partnership works to improve the integrity of the Illinois River Watershed through public education, outreach, and implementation of conservation and restoration practices throughout the watershed.
Our Vision
The Illinois River and its tributaries will be a fully functioning ecosystem, where ecological protection, conservation, and economically productive uses support diverse aquatic and riparian communities, meet all state and federal water quality standards, promote economic sustainability, and provide recreational opportunities.
Watershed Management Plan
Want to better understand how we plan our strategic initiatives at the Illinois River Watershed Partnership? Our watershed management plan is a more technical analysis of the watershed and its challenges.
Our Staff
Whether you are looking to share your story with us and engage in one of our funding programs or you are reaching out to volunteer, the contacts are here. Learn more about our staff.
Our Board of Directors
Having a diverse group of stakeholders means an organization needs a diverse board. Learn about the board of directors at IRWP.
Our Sponsors
Sponsorships and partnerships are the foundation of our organization’s success. We are proud to have so many dedicated sponsors and lifetime members. Learn who they are and how you can become one.
Make a Reservation at the Learning Center or Watershed Sanctuary Pavilion
IRWP’s History
In September 2005, a diverse group of Northwest Arkansas leaders organized an Upper Illinois River Summit with 65 watershed stakeholders committing to personal action and agreeing that public education is the number one priority to improve and protect water quality in the Illinois River. In December 2005, the summit group officially formed the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.
What’s Up with Watersheds?
For those that may be new to the term “watershed,” you are sitting in one right now. Watersheds divide one drainage area from another, using natural boundaries like geographic features such as elevation to determine where the water will drain. It is easy to observe surface drainage in many watersheds; however, much of the water can move below ground and thus be more difficult to measure and influence. The natural logic about how we observe the water flowing leads environmentalists to believe that watershed-based resource management is the best process by which we can plan, measure progress, and work toward long-term sustainability. In a watershed, all of the stormwater flows to a central outlet or collection point, and for much of Northwest Arkansas, that outlet is the Illinois River.
The Partnership
The Illinois River Watershed Partnership is composed of a broad variety of stakeholders, or people with a shared interest in having a healthy and productive watershed and river-- including it’s landowners, who directly affect the water quality of the Illinois River. This group is holding itself accountable by striving to improve the water quality of the Illinois River through personal endeavors and through education, encouragement and positive reinforcement of fellow Illinois River Watershed residents. We are not a politically charged organization, but rather a group that works at the grassroots level with other organizations to seek changes in environmental issues for the betterment of our region. We look beyond the river banks and see the future and how the Illinois River will support our lives into the next centuries.
Map of the Illinois River Watershed and County Boundaries - 2021
The Illinois River
The headwaters, or the source of the river, begins in Hogeye, Arkansas from a natural spring. One of Arkansas’ many!
The Illinois River is a valuable natural resource that originates in Hogeye, Arkansas and flows westerly into Oklahoma where it is designated as a Scenic River.
The Illinois River Watershed (Hydrologic Unit Area 11110103) covers 1,069,530 acres.
The Illinois River Watershed is in western portions of Benton and Washington counties with a very small section in Crawford County in Arkansas and extends over portions of Adair, Delaware, Cherokee and Sequoyah counties in northeast Oklahoma.
The Illinois River Watershed encompasses 1,700 square miles.
The Illinois River Watershed has over 1,000 miles of streams.
Over 500,000 residents live in the Illinois River Watershed.
The Illinois River Watershed includes 4 federally protected aquatic species.
The Illinois River watershed is home to around 220 species of conservation concern, including 24 fishes, 18 reptiles and amphibians, 12 mammals, over 50 aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, over 40 birds, and over 70 plants.
All of the Illinois River headwater streams flow from Washington and Benton counties.
The main tributary streams in the upper basin are Osage Creek, Flint Creek. Clear Creek and Baron Fork Creek.
Source: Watershed-Based Management Plan for the Upper Illinois River Watershed, Northwest Arkansas, prepared by FTN Associates, Ltd, accepted by Region 6 EPA November 2012, and other sources.
