A Prairie for the Prairie State

When the first European settlers arrived, Illinois was a vast sea of tall grasses broken only by the occasional grove of trees growing along waterways or in scattered savannas. Herds of bison and elk grazed on the grass, which provided habitat for hundreds of species of birds.

In 1840, visitor Eliza Steele wrote: "...I started with surprise and delight. T was in the midst of a prairie! A world of grass and flowers stretched around me, rising and falling in gentle undulations, as if an enchanter had struck the ocean swell, and it was at rest forever... .You will scarcely credit the profusion of flowers upon these prairies.. We passed whole acres of blossoms all bearing one hue, as purple, perhaps, or masses of yellow or rose; and then again a carper of every color intermixed, or narrow bands, as if a rainbow had fallen upon the verdant slopes. When the sun flooded this mosaic floor with light, and the summer breeze stirred among their leaves, the iridescent glow was beautiful and wondrous beyond anything I had ever conceived.."

The site Steele described in 'Summer journey in the West" was located near present-day Joliet. One day, in the not-too-distant future, Illinoisans accustomed to acre upon endless acre of corn and soybean fields may again travel to the Joliet area to enjoy vistas filled with prairie grasses, bison and elk.

At the confluence of the DesPlaines, Kankakee and Illinois rivers is the Prairie Parklands Macrosite, an area of approximately 40,000 undeveloped acres that includes the DesPlaines and Heidecke Lake State Fish and Wildlife areas, Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, corporate lands owned by Commonwealth Edison, General Electric, Mobil Oil, Amoco, Stepan and Dow Chemical and the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant.

The ammunition plant, also known as the Joliet Arsenal, was one of 77 built nationwide between 1940-43 to supply ammunition for the United States and its allies. At its peak during