LEWISTOWN, Ill. – A Fulton County nature preserve closed when a dead bird was found to have a form of avian influenza is now back open again.
The Nature Conservancy operates the Emiquon Preserve in Fulton County south of Peoria, and says the preserve has once again opened to the public.
The preserve was closed to the public more than a week ago, they said out of an abundance of caution, after a dead goose on the land was found to have the “H5N1” form of bird flu.
Officials say since then, the number of dead geese on the land has declined since then, and a dense population of snow geese has moved out of the area.
“The Nature Conservancy along with its partners at the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Illinois Department of Nature Resources will continue to monitor for dead geese and work with the National Wildlife Health Center to confirm any infections,” said a news release.
Bird flu has been of concern as of late in Central Illinois. The Miller Park Zoo found one of its flock had bird flu, and the Peoria Zoo took precautions to make sure the same thing didn’t happen there.
The agency says they’ve been told by the Centers for Disease Control that the risk of humans getting the flu is low, and there have been no such cases reported in the U.S.
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