| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19,
2007
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
Nature Preserve, Land
and Water Reserve Actions Announced by Illinois Nature Preserves
Commission
Long
term protection provided for natural lands
SPRINGFIELD
,
IL
– The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC) today announced recent
dedications of select natural lands in the state as nature preserve and nature
preserve buffer, as well as the registrations of several parcels as land and
water reserves or additions to existing land and water reserves.
“Thanks to the commitment to long term conservation of these
parcels by of a number of private and public sector landowners, a variety of
habitat types ranging from wetland to prairie to high-quality timber will
remain protected,” said Illinois Nature Preserves Commission Director Deborah
Stone. “These natural lands are
important parts of our state’s natural heritage.”
Both public and private landowners work with the INPC in
considering nature preserve and land and water reserve designation for natural
lands in the state. If landowners give
permission, areas dedicated as nature preserves may be used for wildlife
viewing, hiking, nature photography and approved scientific research. With landowner permission, areas registered
as land and water reserves may be used for the same activities, as well as
hunting, fishing and other approved activities that do not impact the natural
features of the protected area.
The nine-member Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
determines whether an area is significant enough to warrant protection as a
nature preserve or as a land and water reserve. After approval by the landowner and the INPC, nature preserves must be
approved by the Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and
the Governor. Land and water reserves
require the approval of the landowner, the Commission and the Director of the
IDNR.
Illinois
now
has 337 nature preserves in 81 counties totaling 45,077 acres, and 142 land and
water reserves in 60 counties totaling 39,511 acres.
The most recent nature preserve and
land and water reserve approvals by the INPC are outlined below.
Nature Preserve
Dedications (INPC February 2007 Meeting)
Cook Co. - Buffer Addition to
Sagawau
Canyon
Nature
Preserve
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) sought
dedication of two parcels totaling 9.09 acres as an addition of nature preserve
buffer to Sagawau Canyon Nature Preserve. The addition lies just upstream from the nature preserve and includes a
continuation of the dolomitic cliff habitat, which is a hallmark of Sagawau
Canyon Nature Preserve. Other natural
features include degraded elements of dry-mesic and mesic forest. Dedication of the two parcels as a buffer
addition to Sagawau Canyon Nature will further protect the headwaters of the
nature preserve, helping to prevent changes in surface hydrology and stream
flow within the canyon. Dedication of
the buffer addition increases the size of Sagawau Canyon Nature Preserve from
135 acres to 144.09 acres.
Cook Co. - Buffer Addition to
Wolf
Road
Prairie Nature Preserve
Save the Prairie Society sought dedication of a 0.96-acre
parcel as nature preserve buffer addition to Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve,
a high-quality mesic prairie that has been recognized as the largest and
best-quality “black soil” prairie located east of the
Mississippi
River
. The addition is part
of a five-acre lot referred to as
10 Hickory Lane
. The dedication of the addition will protect
elements of a restored prairie and stream corridor, maintain the existing
landscape linkage with the prairie, buffer the prairie from incompatible
development, and serve as a model for protection of other lots located adjacent
to Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve. Dedication of the addition increases the size of Wolf Road Prairie
Nature Preserve from 53.9 acres to 54.8 acres.
Cook Co. - Buffer Addition to
Wolf
Road
Prairie Nature Preserve
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) sought
dedication of two separate lots totaling 0.14 acres as a nature preserve buffer
addition to Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve. The two lots, fronting
31st
Street
in
Westchester
, were
part of an 80-acre parcel that received preliminary approval for dedication as
a nature preserve in July 1986. The lots
were conveyed to the IDNR from The Nature Conservancy in June 2005. Dedication of the two lots provides formal
protection and increases the size of Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve from
54.80 acres to 54.94 acres.
Iroquois Co. - Buffer Addition to Hooper Branch Nature
Preserve
The Friends of the Kankakee Iroquois Chapter sought the
dedication of two acres adjacent to the existing Hooper Branch Nature Preserve
as a buffer addition. Hooper Branch
Savanna Nature Preserve, owned by the IDNR, was dedicated in 1985. The 560-acre site was purchased by the state
in 1984 as an addition to the Iroquois State Wildlife Area. Known for its high-quality dry and dry-mesic
sand savanna and sand flatwoods communities, Hooper Branch Savanna Nature
Preserve is one of the best natural areas in the region, providing habitat for
numerous uncommon plants and animals indigenous to sandy regions in
Illinois
. The site is also known for five state-endangered plant species. The two-acre buffer addition currently does
not share the same high-quality natural character or
habitat, but it does lend itself to the completion of good preserve
design. Protection and restoration of
the addition will enhance the ecological value of Hooper Branch Savanna.
Rock Island Co. - Josua Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature
Preserve
Augustana
College
sought dedication of 20 acres as the Josua Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature
Preserve in honor of the college’s first biology professor. The dedication is part of the field station
known as the Collinson Ecological Preserve just outside of
Milan
. It includes a natural exposure of limestone
and 0.6 acres of loess hill prairie overlooking the bluff of Mill Creek. The new Josua Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature
Preserve is the first privately owned nature preserve in
Rock
Island
County
and
the only loess hill prairie under nature preserve protection along the
Mississippi
River
bluffs between Grubb Hollow Nature Preserve in
Pike
County
and Sentinel Nature Preserve
in
Carroll
County
(a distance of approximately 150 miles).
Winnebago Co. - Buffer Addition to Harlem Hills Nature
Preserve
Harlem Hills Nature Preserve is owned and managed by the
IDNR and is the largest and best surviving example of a gravel hill prairie in
Illinois
. In May 2006, the INPC dedicated eight of nine
parcels in the Harlem Hills area as nature preserve while negotiations for
state acquisition of a ninth parcel continued. The IDNR recently acquired the approximately 4.2-acre parcel, known as
the Wylie Tract, from the Natural Lands Institute and moved forward on the
dedication of the tract as a buffer addition to Harlem Hills Nature Preserve. The action brings the total area of protected
land at Harlem Hills Nature Preserve to 94.61 acres, helping protect one of the
last remaining hill prairie remnants known to exist in the area.
Land and Water
Reserve Registrations (INPC February and May 2007 meetings)
McLean Co. -
Mackinaw
River
Land
and Water Reserve
The
Mackinaw
River
Land
and Water Reserve, owned by
the ParkLands Foundation, is approximately 639.23 acres in size and includes
1.9 miles of the Mackinaw River Natural Area. The natural area is recognized for populations of two state-threatened
mussel species. Natural habitat includes
native upland and bottomland forests, tallgrass prairie and pasture, and
shrubland or early successional areas. Two state-threatened bird species were documented on the site during the
2006 breeding season. Active management
has been occurring at this site since the 1970s and has included restoration of
a 40-acre tallgrass prairie, control of non-native species, prescribed fire, an
annual deer harvest program, plant community evaluation, and use of livestock
grazing to discourage woody encroachment of grassland areas. Access is from two small gravel parking areas
which may be enlarged. There is also a
three-mile trail system. Fishing and
canoeing in the
Mackinaw
River
will continue to be allowed. Restoring
natural communities at this site will benefit the Mackinaw River Natural Area
and provide additional buffer for the adjacent 78-acre Merwin Savanna Nature
Preserve. The ParkLands Foundation sought
to ensure the continued protection and proper restoration management of the
site by having it registered in perpetuity as a land and water reserve.
Macoupin Co. –
Culp
Conservancy
Woods
Land
and Water
Reserve
The 190.7-acre Culp Conservancy Woods – owned by Rachel C.
Konneker and Rebecca A. Loehr – ranges from dry-mesic upland woods to wet-mesic
bottomland woods along Honey Creek. Oaks
and hickories are common throughout the site, which qualifies as a land and water
reserve due to the presence of more than 100 acres of contiguous forest with a
breeding bird community that contains 16 area-sensitive species. Selective timber harvesting has occurred and
will continue on a limited basis under a timber management plan. Fallen timber may be removed for personal
use.
McHenry Co. – Jimenez Addition to
Black
Crown
Marsh
Land
and Water
Reserve
The Jimenez Addition to
Black
Crown
Marsh
Land
and Water Reserve is a 2.98-acre tract owned by Pedro and Guadelupe
Jimenez. Black Crown Marsh is
ecologically significant due to the diversity and high number of rare,
threatened, and endangered birds that have been documented to use the wetland
basin and surrounding uplands for foraging, breeding, and nesting. The addition represents another important
step in providing long-term protection to the 405-acre Black Crown Marsh
site. Since a significant portion of the
wetland basin remains in private ownership, the commitment of landowners to
this protection effort is critical to achieving success.
Vermilion Co. –
Georgetown
Addition to Little
Vermilion
River
Land
and Water Reserve
The IDNR owns and manages the 156.19-acre
Georgetown
addition to Little Vermilion River Land and Water Reserve. The addition is composed of bottomland and
upland forests, fields and reforestation areas approximately a quarter-mile
south of
Georgetown
. The site is an addition to the 942-acre
Little Vermilion River Land and Water Reserve, located 2.2 miles downstream
within the Harry “Babe” Woodyard State Natural Area. The addition surrounds, buffers, and augments
the Carl Fliermans’ River Nature Preserve, which protects an approximately
1.2-mile long segment of the Little Vermilion River, home to two state list
endangered species of fish and two state list threatened species of mussels. The Little Vermilion River is a biologically
significant stream that also provides habitat for numerous species in greatest
need of conservation identified in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan.
Registration of the
Georgetown
addition will provide increased buffer for the river and the rare fish and
mussels within it. In addition,
restoration and protection of lands within this addition will decrease forest
fragmentation, provide greater habitat for forest-interior birds, and supply
additional watershed protection to the river.
Landowners interested in preserving high-quality natural
lands through nature preserve dedication or land and water reserve registration
should contact the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, One Natural Resources
Way, Springfield, IL, 62702-1271, phone 217/785-8686.
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