The Chouteau Island project began in earnest in the summer of 2000, as a group of agencies, local governments and not for profit organizations came together and identified the desire to place lands within the Chouteau Island complex into public ownership and to develop passive recreational opportunities.  Chouteau Island stands in the middle of the Confluence Greenway, a 200-square mile system of parks, conservation and recreation areas with trails along 40-miles of both banks of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers from downtown St. Louis/E. St. Louis, past Alton to the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and then across to St. Charles.

Chouteau Island is a 5,500-acre complex comprised of three islands, (Chouteau, Gabaret and Mosenthein) all located in Illinois ( Madison County , City of Madison ) just minutes north of downtown St. Louis/E. St. Louis.  Following the great flood of ’93, all residences within the complex have been acquired (FEMA) and the complex is currently primarily utilized for agriculture and wildlife habitat.

The Partnership, which works through a memorandum of Understanding, is in-place to assist in the planning and implementation of the restoration of approximately 2,500 acres of floodplain habitat, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive, multi-purpose trail system, and a number of other passive recreational opportunities.

US Army Corps of Engineers

National Park Service

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Southwestern Illinois RC&D, Inc.

City of Madison, Illinois

Trust for Public Land

Confluence Greenway

Metro East Park & Recreation District

Trailnet, Inc.

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

To date the partnership has assisted in the acquisition of 2,245 acres, including all of Mosenthein and Gabaret Islands .   In addition, the City of Madison has been gifted 125 acres from  Madison County as well as approximately 600 acres from private industry.  The US Army Corps of Engineers, as part of their navigation authority on the island, own an additional 1,300 acres.  This places a total of 4,270 of the 5,500 acres (78%) of the island complex in public ownership.  The remainder of the complex is in private ownership, and the Trust for Public Land is working with these landowners on an on going basis.

In 2002 the Partnership completed a strategic planning process, which calls for 2,500 acres of habitat restoration, including grasslands, bottomland forests, wetlands and slough restoration.  The restoration component of this project is now in the US Army Corps of Engineers Section 206 program and is in the second year of planning.

The first recreational trail, Canal Trail, opened in 2003 and sits on top of a federal levee.  Additional funds are currently being sought to replicate a 1930 era Toll Booth at the foot of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.  The bridge once served as the Illinois-Missouri connection for Route 66, and the interpretive Toll Booth will be constructed to bring back the Route 66 theme.  This will be the only "hard" facility on the island-complex.