10149 Co Rd 11

Chandlerville, IL 62627

One of Illinois' largest public access areas, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (JEPC) in central Illinois is a mosaic of mature forest land, agricultural land, grassland and rare hill prairie that is home to a rich assortment of wildlife.

The site, including the former Panther Creek Conservation Area, now totals 16,550 acres. Formerly known as Site M, it was acquired by the State of Illinois from Commonwealth Edison after the company abandoned plans for a coal-fired power plant and cooling lake in Cass County. Since 1993, IDNR has developed the site for conservation and recreation, adding hundreds of acres of native and cool season grasses, habitat strips and trees on former pasture, idling hundreds of other acres allowed to move towards forest through natural succession.