to the beaver. Mud flats created through sedimentation have been 

 pioneered by black willow, cottonwood, and silver maple trees, which 

 are preferred foods of the beaver. 



Probably the 9-foot channel project had little effect on potential 

 beaver habitat. It was both destructive and beneficial, depending upon 

 the amount of flooding: too much was destructive of beaver habitat, 

 moderate inundation was beneficial. 



Raccoon 



Raccoons are present throughout Illinois and Missouri with the 

 highest densities found in extensively wooded bottomland areas. Bot- 

 tomland forests of the Illinois and Mississippi River valleys provide 

 excellent habitat for the raccoon with number reaching 100 animals per 

 square mile under favorable conditions (personal communication, Glen 

 Sanderson, wildlife biologist, Illinois Natural History Survey). Ma- 

 turity of bottomland forest and a plentiful water supply improve the 

 quality of habitat. 



Trapping studies have indicated that raccoon populations decreased 

 in Illinois during the 1930' s (Brown and Yeager, 1943: 463). During 

 1938-39, Brown and Yeager reported a density of 5 raccoons per square 

 mile in Calhoun County. This was the heaviest raccoon population 

 encountered during their fur resource study of Illinois, which indicates 

 the importance of the Illinois and Mississippi River bottomland forest. 

 Beginning in the 1940 's the raccoon population began to increase, and 

 it is now abundant in both the Illinois and Mississippi valleys. 



Furbearer harvest studies were obtained from Dave Erickson, small 

 game biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Tables 50-53 

 illustrates the increased fur harvest of raccoons in the counties of 

 Missouri bordering Pools 24, 25, and 26 on the Mississippi, which is 

 indicative of the increase in raccoon population bordering the Mis- 

 sissippi. Fur harvest figures from the Missouri DOC indicate than the 

 northeast portion of the state consistently harvests more raccoons. The 

 rising market value of pelts the last few years has resulted in the 

 large increase of raccoons harvested in 1975 and 1976 (Table 49). 



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