ULLIN, Ill. -- A visitor education and headquarters center for the Cache River Wetlands has been proposed.

Recommended site of the $13.9 million facility is about 1.5 miles east of Interstate 57 at the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge.

The center would be visible from the Shawnee Community College Road, which is adjacent to one of the most visible wetlands within the Cache River area.

The next step toward a center is to secure $2.3 million for planning, architecture and engineering. The project is expected to take from three to five years to complete.

The Joint Venture Cache River Wetlands, a proposed 60,000-acre project that includes Cypress Creek Natural Wildlife Refuge and Cache River State Natural Area, is a unique project. In 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Conservation, the Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited joined forces to create a federal, state and private conservation partnership. Since 1991, the project has amassed almost 35,000 acres.

Last year Booker Associates Inc., of St. Louis was commissioned by the Illinois Department of Conservation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address feasibility of developing a center. The firm conducted visitor surveys and public hearings to determine a strong community interest in it.

A market analysis study indicated that as many as 500,000 people may annually visit the Cache River wetlands by 2010, with an estimated attendance at the center of 125,000 to 150,00 annually.

Interstate 57, which bisects Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, carries an average of 18,500 vehicles per day, which provides a steady market base, said Booker Associates.

Additionally, the refuge is within a three-hour drive of the major population centers of Memphis, St. Louis and Nashville, constituting a primary market of almost seven million people.

The unique natural features of the Cache River Wetlands and a world-class center would attract people interested in nature, education, bird-watching, canoeing, hunting, fishing, hiking, wetland restoration, and scientific study, the center supporters believe.

The area has been described as one of the most diverse and least familiar of Illinois' birding hotspots. Counts have revealed more than 250 bird species within the Cache River basin, including 22 of the state's endangered or threatened species.

In the winter, Cache hosts a huge variety of waterfowl, plus bald eagles and the state's endangered red-shouldered hawk. Some birders hike the swampy Cache area and others use canoes.

Other highlights of the Cache River Wetlands are the 1,500-year-old cypress trees reputed to be the oldest living things in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and the wetlands, called "Illinois' bayou" for their resemblance to swamps in Louisiana.

The center would comprise 27,000 square feet and include visitor, administrative, research and maintenance functions. The center would feature a cypress-tupelo swamp diorama as its focal point.

Visitors would be oriented around and through the "swamp" to nine other theme-oriented exhibitions. An observation deck and nature trails are included.

The center would be divided into three wings -- an exhibit-reception wing, administrative wing, and research wing.

Site construction would require 45 acres, However, a 1,100-acre block of land in the vicinity of the center must be acquired. Today, 400 acres have been acquired.

The cost would include the center, site development, access roads, parking lots, and associated nature trails.