Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Clark was considerably different from today's river. The historic Missouri was a broad, slow-moving, shallow river with braided channels. These past river conditions created a haven for wildlife, which included vast floodplain forests of giant trees, marshes, and even wet prairies. Today's river is channelized. It is deeper and faster, and controlled by levees, dikes, and other containment structures. These controls make the river more navigable and the surrounding floodplain ideal for agriculture. The Big Muddy Refuge is allowing the Missouri River to be a river again, to enter its floodplain. This occurs during minor flood events. Management has created
River Grove, Illinois River Grove, Illinois River Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,227 at the 2010 census. River Grove is located at (41.925830, -87.840135). According to the 2010 census, River Grove has a total area of , all land. Just as nearby Elmwood Park and Oak Park are named after their historic elm and oak trees, River Grove gets its two-part name first from the community's shallow muddy plains river, and second from the majestic groves of American ash trees lining shore of the (Aux) Des Planes River "Bottomland." Credit goes to the village's early