IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
A . Formation of Illinois Fish and Wildlife Action Team
Letters inviting potential 26 core partners to participate as members
of the Illinois Fish and Wildlife Action Team were sent. First meeting
of the Illinois Fish and Wildlife Action Team comprised of accepting
core partners were scheduled for early fall 2006.
The first meeting of the Illinois Fish and Wildlife Action Team was
on September 8th, 2006.
State Wildlife Grant T-55 Project
Green Cities Campaign-
Farm and Prairie Campaign-
Examples of an Illinois Wildlife Action Plan Implementation Project:
S.A.F.E. http://www.dnr.state.il.us/ORC/SAFE/
"An Approach to the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan's Implementation"
Southern Till & Grand Prairie
Natural Divisions:
Management Guidelines
Core Areas - Grassland management landscapes larger than 10,000 acres
in the Southern Till Plain Natural Division should contain at least
40% grassland land cover (over 50% in patches larger than 160 acres)
and less than 10% combined wooded and urban land covers. At
least two additional Bird Conservation Areas (grasslands >3,000
acres; see Fitzgerald et al. 2000) should be established in addition
to Prairie Ridge State Natural Area (both units require augmentation;
see Walk 2004), and Pyramid State Park (needs management plan). Grasslands
should be managed for diverse structure and vegetation composition
across the landscape with prescribed fire, proper grazing, soil
disturbance, and invasive species control (mechanical, chemical). Ephemeral
and semipermanent (fishless) wetlands associated with grasslands
are important to many amphibians and reptiles, including crayfish
frog and Kirtland=s snake.
Landscape - Open, treeless, upland grasslands more than 0.5 mile
wide are especially important to Species in Greatest Need of Conservation. Grasslands
should be managed for diverse structure and vegetation composition
across the landscape with prescribed fire, proper grazing, soil disturbance,
and invasive species control (mechanical, chemical). Restore
and manage broad transitions (at least 50 m) from cropland and grassland
to closed upland forests using mechanical disturbances and prescribed
fire. Identify degraded open woodlands, barrens and savannas,
and restore with mechanical removal of undesirable vegetation, and
manage with prescribed fire and proper grazing. Renovate fencelines/hedge
rows to shrub/successional habitat. Ephemeral and semipermanent
(fishless) wetlands associated with grasslands, flatwoods and bottomland
forests are important to many amphibians and reptiles, including
crayfish frog, and Kirtland=s snake.
Species in Greatest Need of Conservation
Primary (core areas) - crayfish frog, Kirtland=s snake, ornate
box turtle, Henslow=s sparrow, LeConte=s sparrow, Nelson=s sharp-tailed
sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, short-eared owl, upland sandpiper,
northern harrier, northern bobwhite, sedge wren, king rail, dickcissel,
greater prairie-chicken, barn owl
Primary (landscape) - crayfish frog, Henslow=s sparrow, LeConte=s
sparrow, Nelson=s sharp-tailed sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, northern
bobwhite, sedge wren, loggerhead shrike, American golden-plover,
dickcissel, field sparrow, brown thrasher, barn owl, Bell=s vireo
Secondary (core areas) - eastern massasauga, willow flycatcher,
least bittern, American bittern, loggerhead shrike, American golden-plover,
American woodcock, field sparrow, brown thrasher, greater yellowlegs,
buff-breasted sandpiper, Bell=s vireo, marsh rice rat
Secondary (landscape) - yellow-billed cuckoo, northern flicker,
willow flycatcher, yellow-breasted chat, red-headed woodpecker, American
woodcock, greater yellowlegs, buff-breasted sandpiper, marsh rice
rat
Management Indicator Species for Monitoring & Evaluation
Open Woodland/Savanna/Barren - red-headed woodpecker, eastern kingbird,
Baltimore oriole, great crested flycatcher
Shrub/Successional Habitat
- brown thrasher, field sparrow, northern bobwhite, yellow-breasted
chat, indigo bunting
Grasslands - prairie kingsnake, dickcissel, grasshopper sparrow,
eastern meadowlark, field sparrow (shrub-grassland), southern bog
lemming, Microtus species
Wetlands - willow flycatcher, migratory shorebirds, southern leopard
frog, cricket frog, chorus frog, spring peeper, smallmouth salamander
Conservation Philosophy
Core Areas - The primary goal is development of a grassland ecosystem
capable of maintaining viable populations of grassland species,
including both permanent residents and migratory species, with
emphasis on threatened and endangered species. A secondary
goal is the development of a prairie preserve characteristic of
the presettlement flora of the Southern Till Plain natural division
of Illinois (from Simpson & Esker 1997).
Landscape - Restore and improve habitats that enhance the core areas
and increase the abundance of farmland wildlife.
10-Year Goals
Core Areas - add 500 grassland acres per year at Prairie Ridge until
target acreages (5,000 acres in each unit) are obtained; as area
is added, restore/create 250 acres (5%) shallow-water wetlands
on well-suited sites; improve private land synergies (open space,
foraging areas, brood habitat) on 500 acres near each unit of Prairie
Ridge within 3 years; complete four 500-acre satellite locations,
and begin work at an additional four satellite locations; develop
management plan and improve habitat at Pyramid State Park; translocate
prairie-chickens to Pyramid landscape after habitat is suitable,
and linkage to Prairie Ridge landscape is established
Landscape - establish 50,000 acres of additional grassland/fallow;
improve 100,000 acres of existing grassland (disturbance to CRP,
change composition/moderate grazing of pasture); renovate 100 miles
of wooded fence lines to shrubs and 500 acres of small woodlots to
open woodland habitats; restore/create 2,500 acres of shallow-water
wetlands in open/grassland situations
Key Actions
Establishing additional habitat at core locations and satellites. Promoting
compatible agricultural practices on adjacent private lands (managed
grazing, small grains, legumes, idle/fallow areas, renovation of
linear woody vegetation, and field borders). Continually addressing
grassland management/succession and invasive species (e.g., fescue,
autumn olive) with methods including grazing, prescribed fire, mowing
and mechanical and chemical control. Addressing management,
restoration and outreach staffing/equipment/facility needs.
Partners
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Audubon Society,
U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation
Service & Farm Service Agency, Ameren-CIPS, The Nature Conservancy,
Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, Quail Unlimited, Eastern Illinois
University, University of Illinois, Illinois Natural History Survey,
Endangered Species Protection Board, Illinois Nature Preserves
Commission.
Conserving Grassland Wildlife in the Grand Prairie Natural Division
Due to inadequate and low-quality habitat, populations of many species
of grassland wildlife are well below desired levels in Illinois, particularly
within the intensively-agricultural Grand Prairie Natural Division of
central Illinois.
One of the priority conservation actions in the Illinois Wildlife Action
Plan’s Farmland & Prairie Campaign is to establish “grassland
bird conservation areas,” in to-be-determined locations.” This
reserve design, produced by Partners in Flight (FIGURE), is similar to
the “hub-and-spoke” design being employed by Pheasants Forever.
In essence, at least 3,000 acres of grassland habitat are imbedded within
a larger, open, upland landscape.
For a grassland bird conservation area, meeting habitat objectives (e.g., >20%
grassland land cover, <5% forested land cover) is expected to yield
wildlife benefits ranging from important recreational species to species
in greatest need of conservation.
For example, ring-necked pheasant harvests of 1,500 birds, and nesting
populations of 1,100 pairs of meadowlarks, 350 pairs of boblinks, and
18 pairs of state-endangered upland sandpipers will all be sustainable
in such an area, and are easily quantified measures of conservation effectiveness.
Suitable locations for such large-scale grassland conservation areas
are being selected based on factors related to the likelihood of biological
success, and feasibility. Biologists selected 34 areas based on (1) high
proportions of existing grassland habitat, (2) low proportions of forested
and urbanized land covers, and (3) high proportions of highly-erodible
soils. Existing grassland habitat implies an area may already be well-suited
to additional habitat, and grassland wildlife populations may be more
robust in these areas. Many grassland species are also known to avoid
wooded and developed areas. Highly-erodible soils (those with a slope
of >5%) are best-suited to existing agricultural conservation programs
designed to achieve soil, water, and wildlife benefits simultaneously.
Using GIS to quantify each land feature, sites were ranked. The ratio
of cropland to highly-erodible cropland is a particularly useful measure
of the feasibility of significantly increasing grassland habitat. Ten
areas exhibit <5% forested land covers and at least 10% highly-erodible
cropland.
IDNR currently owns and manages Pheasant Habitat Areas in two of these
landscapes. These, and future properties in these focal areas, can function
as anchoring grassland habitats. Technical assistance to land owners,
and targeting of farm conservation programs will improve the quality
and increase the quantity of habitat in these areas on private lands.
With specific habitat objectives for a defined area, measurable and realistic
wildlife benchmarks can be reached.
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