Rend Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is a protected state-managed landscape in southern Illinois covering 38,900 acres in Franklin and Jefferson counties. Part of the broader Rend Lake area, it consists mainly of hardwood forest and open fields. Its character is defined less by formal recreation facilities than by its extensive woodland and field habitat, which supports its role as a fish and wildlife area. The area's importance lies in the large amount of protected land it preserves in this part of Illinois and in its ongoing function as a managed natural area.