Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve protects a swath of Cache River drainage upstream from the Post Creek Cutoff.[3] Its biology and geology are representative of the Coastal Plain natural division in Illinois,[4] which is the northernmost extent of the Gulf Coastal Plain in North America. It combines upland limestone bluffs (Wildcat Bluff), Cache River floodplain, and a drier mesic woodland (Boss Island).
The Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve complex comprises 1,861 acres (753 hectares) of land accessible from U.S. Highway 45. In terms of area, it is the largest natural area owned and operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.[2]
A floating boardwalk that is part of the Todd Fink-Heron Pond Trail allows visitors to enter the bald cypress/water tupelo swamp.[6][7]
The name of the small nearby town of Cypress, Illinois, appears to commemorate the cypress trees of the upper Cache River drainage, including the groves now protected within the Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve.
