A Look at Nature Preserves By Martin Bowles Natural Areas Biologist Illinois Department of Conservation

The 1,111-acre Heron Pond-Wildcat Bluff Nature Preserve In southern Illinois' Johnson County contains a vast southern coastal plain type of bald cypress swamp that is near the northern limit of that kind of swamps' occurence. Photo credit: John White.

Illinois' Nature Preserve systems includes 62 sites totalling 15,543 acres and ranging in size from two acres, such as Beach Cemetery Prairie in Ogle County, to the 1,520-acre Cap Sauers Holdings in Cook County.

The system contains some of Illinois' most significant natural land tracts. Many of them are important research areas or sanctuaries for endangered species, and others offer multiple use opportunities, including environmental education and passive forms of outdoor recreation.

Extending the length and breath of the state, the system is designed to preserve, in full, the wide diversity of Illinois' natural assets. Through a geographical classification plan delineating the "Natural Divisions of Illinois," the objective of preserving the best remaining examples of each of the state's 14 "natural divisions" has been set.

Some excellent remnants of the native prairie that once covered most of the state are preserved in such sites as Goose Lake Prairie Nature Preserve, Des Plaines Conservation Area (above), Fults Hill Prairie and Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Nature Preserve.

The General Assembly created the Illinois Nature Preserves system in 1963. Legislation established a ninemember Nature Preserves Commission — whose members serve without pay and are appointed by the Governor to overlapping three-year terms — to oversee administration of the preserve system. It also authorized acquisition and maintenance of nature preserves primarily by the Conservation Department in order to "secure for present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of natural lands."

The Nature Preserves Commission does not acquire or hold land. Rather, it selects sites suitable as nature preserves for dedication by their owners. The Department of Conservation owns the majority of the state's nature preserves, 35, but it is by no means the only such owner. Cook County Forest Preserve District owns 22 others, and the remaining 16 are scattered among these agencies, governments or foundations: Boone, Lake, Winnebago and Vermilion Counties; The Nature Conservancy; Natural Land Institute; Northern Illinois and Vincennes Universities; the cities of Elgin and Yates; Prospect Cemetery Trustees; Forest Park Foundation; and American Electric Power Corporation.

Nature Preserve status safeguards natural land from public works projects and other intrusions, or from diversions to other uses, since land dedicated as a nature preserve is legally declared to be put to its highest and best use. Dedication of a site as a nature preserve is equivalent to the owner's transfer of development and certain other rights to the public. Dedication and its accompanying protection are perpetual.

Although Illinois statutes specifically authorize dedications by park districts, forest preserve districts or conservation districts, any owner of qualified land can dedicate it as a nature preserve.

In order to qualify for nature preserve status, a tract must be a 'natural area'; that is, a site retaining to a

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Course of the Dead River through Illinois Beach State Park Nature Preserve, In Lake County, Is paralleled by top-grade trail from which much of the preserve can be viewed by visitors without damage to the natural resource.

significant degree its primeval character and representing the landscape as it was before European settlement. Considerations that can add to the quality or significance of a potential preserve include: geological features, such as bedrock or glacial topography; important aquatic features; or the presence of rare or endangered species.

The southern Illinois preserves exhibit many characteristics and flora of other geographic regions. For instance, the 1,111 acre Heron Pond-Wildcat Bluff Nature Preserve in Johnson County contains a vast southern coastal plain type of bald cypress swamp that is near the northern limits of such swamps' occurrence. Fults Hill Prairie in Monroe County includes an Ozarkian flora in dry prairie communities on the loess-covered limestone bluffs of the Mississippi River. Beall Woods, a National Natural Landmark in Wabash County, is a near-virgin forest with many eastern species of trees representative of Wabash River and southeastern forests.

Many central Illinois preserves contain remnants of the once-limitless midwestern prairies. Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Preserve in Mason County has 1,460 acres of black oak and blackjack oak, plus little bluestem sand prairie having a number of western species in its arid sand environment. The 1,513-acre Goose Lake Prairie in Grundy County is the largest remnant of black soil prairie, marsh and pothole land east of the Mississippi River. Miller-Anderson Woods in Putnam and Bureau Counties contains old growth woodland typical of the forests that penetrated the Illinois-Grand Prairie along the Illinois River.

The effects of the comparatively recent Wisconsin glaciation can be seen in northern Illinois preserves in Lake County. Volo and Wauconda Bogs, both National Natural Landmarks, contain northern tamarack forests at the southern boundaries of Tamarack range. The 829-acre Illinois Beach Nature Preserve includes sand prairie, black oak savanna and beach communities on the sand soils of the Lake Michigan shoreline. Many plants limited to beach habitat occur only here in Illinois.

Beall Woods—said to be one of the worlds greatest deciduous forests, rivaled only by one in Persia and another In China—contains more than 60 species of trees, with many specimens over 125 feet tall.

Although long term protection and preservation of nature preserves is of highest concern, proper management and compatible use of the sites is fundamental. With many of the state's most significant or representative natural areas contained in the nature preserve system, it provides some of the best places in Illinois for nature-oriented scientific research and educational use.

Research is advocated and administered through a permit system. Permits are approved by the Department of Conservation, Nature Preserves Commission and the land owner. Current research includes ongoing studies throughout the preserve system on a wide range of natural history projects by colleges and universities.

Educational and recreational uses of preserves are important in areas with high scenic or educational quality. Carefully planned development and visitor control can make such uses compatible with preservation.

Visitor control methods include well-designed trails and boardwalks, proper signing, and supervision by on-site managers or naturalists.

A number of Chicago area nature preserves receive high public use. Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area in Lake County has been developed as a nature preserve, outdoor laboratory and educational center. Preserve use reached an estimated 10,000 visotrs in 1976. A cabin within the preserve portion of the conservation area serves as a biological field station.

Volo Bog, also in Lake County, received approximately 25,000 visitors in 1976. Here, usage is controlled by means of a summer interpreter, brochures, a trail and a boardwalk 'loop.' Visitor use of Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is made possible through a recently developed 4.5 miles of trails and a new interpretive building. Preserve visitation reached an estimated 30,000 in 1976.

Other preserves throughout the state also receive significant visitor use and provide educational opportunities. Near Peoria, Forest Park Nature Preserve complements the adjacent Sommer House Nature Center, constructed by the Forest Park Foundation. The Russel M. Duffin Nature Preserve in Vemilion County accepts field trips coordinated through the Willow Shores Nature Center as part of the Forest Glen Preserve operated by

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Vermilion County Conservation District.

In southern Illinois, a number of preserves are developed for public use. At Beall Woods, hiking trails, a nature center and summer naturalist assist the visitor. Heron Pond employs a naturalist seasonally and provides trails and a boardwalk. A naturalist also provides interpretation at Lusk Creek Canyon.

This brief look at the Illinois Nature Preserves system illustrates its need and usefulness. Its design is flexible enough to allow dedication and use-control of sites by their owners, plus by research, educational and recreational use where compatible and provided for.

Although the primary responsibility for the preserve system lies with the Department of Conservation, other organizations also play a significant role. Slightly under half of the existing preserves are held by non-Department agencies and the number of such participating agencies can be expected to grow as the number of city and county park, conservation and forest preserve districts increases.

The participation of all levels of government will be needed if an adequate sample of our natural heritage is to be preserved.

Additional information on specific preserves and the nature preserves system can be obtained by writing to the Natural Areas Section, Illinois Department of Conservation, 605 State Office Building, Springfield, IL 62706, for a free copy of the Directory of Illinois Nature Preserves.

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