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If you had a time machine and could travel back 200 years or so to Illinois’ early settlement days, you wouldn’t recognize the place. Prairies stretched as far as the eye could see—across more than 60 percent of the state. Herds of bison and elk grazed in tall grasses, and the mating calls of prairie chickens filled the air. Rivers flooded their banks each spring, renewing life in adjacent wetlands. Michigan lilies and prairie-fringed orchids bloomed where downtown Chicago now sits.
Today, most of Illinois’ original prairies, forests and wetlands are either gone—converted to agricultural land or urban areas—or severely degraded. The energy and ingenuity of the early settlers turned Illinois’ rich, black prairie soil into food for the nation. Forests were cut for fuel and lumber. Wetlands were drained and planted to crops.
But happily, this story doesn’t end here. Perhaps because Illinois has so little native habitat left, it has been a leader in protecting what remains and restoring some of the Prairie State’s former grandeur.
All over Illinois, including in the Chicago region, public agencies and private landowners are protecting prairie remnants, reconstructing wetlands and restoring savannas and forests. And ordinary citizens are a driving force in this renaissance.
People like Jay Stacy who has spent the last 13 years, sometimes putting in 10-hour days, removing invasive species and collecting seeds at Nachusa Grasslands, one of Illinois largest remaining prairies. Or people like Jim Judd, a retired engineer from St. Charles, who spends many early mornings making photographs of Kane County forest preserves, which he shares with the Forest Preserve District in hopes of inspiring others to join the restoration effort.
What The Nature Conservancy is Doing.
Through the Volunteer Stewardship Network, The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and other partners provide more than 74 groups—39 in the Chicago area—and thousands of volunteers like Jim Judd with training opportunities, tools, funding and information on grants and workshops to assist them with restoring Illinois’ highest quality natural areas.
At Nachusa Grasslands near Rockford, volunteer land stewards like Jay Stacy are restoring one of Illinois’ largest and last remaining prairie landscapes. A remnant of the once vast landscape that greeted Illinois pioneers 200 years ago, today Nachusa is a model for prairie restoration and a training site for public and private land managers interested in prescribed fire, weed management and natural areas restoration.
At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, southwest of Chicago near Joliet, the Conservancy is coordinating volunteer and environmental monitoring programs at the first national tallgrass prairie in the country. Part of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, today Midewin is dedicated to prairie and wildlife habitat restoration, scientific research, education and recreation. Midewin has about 260 active volunteers who donated more than 8,100 hours last year helping to collect seed and plant prairie, remove brush and invasive species, build trails, conduct plant surveys, lead hikes and much more. Through the Mighty Acorns Youth Stewardship Program, each year volunteers help introduce hundreds of school children to nature.
Action starts when people talk.
In the midst of the struggle to balance the protection and restoration of natural areas with continued loss from development and invasive species, there are reasons for hope and things we can do as individuals. First, start a conversation about the issue with friends, family and colleagues. Take a look at our Conversation Starters related to habitat restoration for relevant and compelling facts. Contact the Volunteer Stewardship Network to learn more about how you can get involved in helping restore our prairies, forests and waterways. And, learn more about our work by visiting related projects on the Conservancy’s Web site, nature.org.
