Wildlife Prairie State Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Wildlife Prairie State Park, Illinois, USA
iucn_category = III


caption = Map of the U.S. state of Illinois showing the location of Wildlife Prairie State Park
locator_x = 127
locator_y = 130
location = Peoria County, Illinois, USA
nearest_city = Hanna City, Illinois
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 44
lat_seconds = 02
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 89
long_minutes = 44
long_seconds = 50
long_direction = W
area = convert|1700|acre|km2|2|lk=on
established = September 5, 2000
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Wildlife Prairie State Park, officially dedicated as Hazel & Bill Rutherford Wildlife Prairie State Park, is an Illinois state park located in Peoria County, Illinois, in central Illinois, about 10 miles (6 km) west of downtown Peoria.

The massive park, consisisting of mostly wildlife animals native to Illinois, was first established in the late 1960s, and was first open to the public in the autumn of 1978 under the name Wildlife Prairie Park. It was transferred from private foundation ownership to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and renamed in autumn of 2001. A motel, restaurant, and other attractions are also located on the grounds. Years before environmental protection was common practice in most places, many of the man-made features of the park were built manually and with recycled materials to minimize the impact to the environment.

References

*cite news | author= USGS | url=http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?latd=40&latm=44&lats=2&lond=89&lonm=44&lons=50&datum=NAD83&u=6| title= USGS Peoria West (IL) Quad | publisher= TopoQuest | accessdate= 2008-07-05

External links

* [http://www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org/ Wildlife Prairie State Park website]