May Featured Sites

Stony Hills Nature Preserve consists of 194.4 acres in Hancock County and is owned by the  Prairie Land Conservancy . It was established as a Nature Preserve to protect and perpetuate natural communities, wildlife habitats, and species which utilize the site, including the state-threatened timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus). Stony Hills also protects and restores the grasslands and forested ravines to presettlement savanna and open woodland conditions which provides habitat for grassland and forest sensitive breeding birds, as well as other wildlife. 

Want to know more about the history of Stony Hills Nature Preserve? Read through the detailed historical timeline below.

The preserve provides habitat for a large diversity of fauna including the following wildlife species of greatest conservation need: American woodcock, northern bobwhite, northern flicker, red-headed woodpecker, eastern towhee, grasshopper sparrow, field sparrow, American bumble bee, yellow bumble bee, and monarch butterfly. Henslow’s sparrows are still consistent breeders at the site but have been removed from state listed status due to increased numbers within the state. Bald eagles and American white pelicans following the river can be seen soaring over the bluffs. The state-threatened timber rattlesnake has not been documented at the site since the photo taken of Jim Graft with one killed in his yard in 1996. There was a confirmed report of one at the mobile home park but there is no recent evidence suggesting this species is still found at the preserve. Scroll through the images below to see some wildlife which inhabit Stony Hills Nature Preserve!

Multiple surveys, night lighting events, and a 24-hour bio blitz have documented around 700 species of terrestrial invertebrates. Scroll through the images below to view some terrestrial invertebrates which inhabit Stony Hills Nature Preserve!

Stony Hills remains a place with untapped potential for conservation outreach. The long-term vision for Stony Hills includes clearing an open area for public use around the historic barn, maintaining trails through the woodlands to provide a scenic view of the waterfall and pool area along with a unique sandstone overhang.

Prairie Land Conservancy is seeking to increase public use of the site with phone apps that will guide visitors to various locations within the preserve and explain the ecological importance of those areas. Prairie Land Conservancy currently offers several field days at the preserve each year to give the public the opportunity to help with stewardship and to learn about ongoing conservation efforts.

At the end of April, the Prairie Land Conservancy hosted an open house to highlight a newly created trail and scenic overlook: Zed’s Eagle Overlook. Zed Moorehouse coordinated the clearing of this trail and overlook along with the assembly of a split rail fence as part of his eagle scout project. The fenced overlook is above the old quarry to provide a view of the river bottomlands.

Contributor: Angella Moorehouse. Photos provided by Dan and Angella Moorehouse.

Editor: Heather McLean

Contributor: Sami Childerson

Editor: Heather McLean

Elkhart Hill Grove is a 130.4-acre Nature Preserve located in Logan County. It is one of the few remaining prairie groves in Illinois, more notably the only prairie grove in the state that occurs on a glacial kame. It contains old growth upland forest, as well as an unusual and distinctive assemblage of plants that is unique to central Illinois. Specifically, the spring bloom of the Virginia bluebells at this site is spectacular. The Nature Preserve is composed of two adjacent 65.2-acre parcels that are privately owned. There is also a nearby privately-owned Land and Water Reserve which is 65.2 acres. These sites are not open to the public.

Elkhart Hill Grove has a long and rich history in Illinois. Prior to 1911, Elkhart Hill was eloquently described by the summary from the History of Logan County, Illinois:

When John Dean Gillett arrived in Elkhart in 1838 he began purchasing land and farming it. By 1868 he moved to Elkhart Hill, having acquired 20,000 acres of land and hundreds of cattle. He became the nation's largest exporter of cattle to Europe and was known as the "cattle king of the world". John Dean Gillette had many prominent friends, including Abraham Lincoln, who was the family lawyer. When John died in 1883 he was one of the wealthiest men in Logan County. Land holdings of the old Gillette farm have been divided many times. However much of the original acreage, including the old growth forest, remains in the hands of fourth or fifth generation heirs of John Dean Gillette.

Read through the timeline to learn about the dedications and registrations at Elkhart Hill.

Some of the old growth trees are reaching the end of their life cycle and there appears to be no younger age classes of blue ash or bur oak in the understory. Management is under way by the Drake Family, Guy Sternberg from Starhill Forest Arboretum, and  Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC)  staff to encourage natural regeneration by supplemental planting of blue ash seedlings. The goal is to help protect and safeguard the genetics of these trees. Seed from the blue ash were collected and grown in a nursery. Seedlings were planted in early April this year. Several openings were created in areas dominated by sugar maple, hackberry, and paw paw to allow sufficient sunlight for growth. Additionally, a few of the blue ash on the Nature Preserve and some on adjacent private land were treated to help protect them from the Emerald Ash Borer, a non-native invasive wood-boring beetle that feeds on ash species. Although blue ash seem to be somewhat resistant to the Emerald Ash Borer they are not completely immune.

Contributor: Byron Paulsen

Editor: Heather McLean

Kishwaukee Fen is an Illinois Nature Preserve owned by the Village of Lakewood. These rare, high quality 36.578 acres were permanently dedicated in 1993. This beautiful, ancient, remnant ecosystem is important to global biodiversity conservation and as a rich educational and cultural asset to the local community. The qualifying natural feature is a graminoid fen wetland and associated seeps, spring runs, and sedge meadows, as well as a strong groundwater influence which is readily apparent.

In some places groundwater emerges, forming two “hanging fens” that support endangered plants and rare butterflies, as they release streams of pure water down flowery slopes. Crystalline “tufa” rock forms around the edges of the seeps. The emerging groundwater flows downhill, coalescing into spring runs, through wet prairie and sedge meadow before joining a headwater of the Kishwaukee River. Two “raised fens” maintain similar rarities while surrounded by still thriving wet prairie and sedge meadow. The especially intact groundwater hydrology, consisting of high quality and lime-laden spring water, has helped maintain the floristic integrity of the site.

The fen features a high quality plant community including many plants favoring calcium rich environments such as twig rush, sweet Indian plantain, turtlehead, swamp betony, grass of Parnassus, and Kalm's lobelia. Other forbs abound here are associated with wetland sedges and grasses. The Baltimore checkerspot, dependent on turtlehead for its larval food supply, resides here with other wetland restricted butterflies. The area is being managed to eradicate invasive, exotic purple loosestrife and reed canary grass.

 The Friends of Kish Fen  are a volunteer group supported by the  Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves  committed to protecting the beauty and history of Kishwaukee Fen Nature Preserve. They are a group of passionate individuals with the goal of maintaining the site for future generations. The Friends of Kish Fen do a variety of stewardship, such as brush cutting, invasive species control, seed collecting, prescribed burning, and plant monitoring.

Interested in volunteering? You can attend one of the Friends of Kish Fen's Eco-days. No background or previous experience is required. Click below to learn more!

Contributors: Rebeccah Hartz (Kish Fen Friends)

Editor: Heather McLean

Carpenter Park is a diverse, 341.5-acre Nature Preserve with high-quality upland and floodplain forests, intermittent streams, small seeps, and sandstone outcrops. These features represent over half of the remaining forest that originally occurred along the major streams of the Springfield Section of the Grand Prairie Natural Division. The site is located on the outskirts of Springfield within the Carpenter-Gurgens Park on the north bank of the Sangamon River. The site was dedicated in 1979 by the  Springfield Park District  to permanently protect the outstanding and ecologically significant natural features.

Carpenter Park has a well documented history which began with the local Native Americans who wintered on the bluffs above a river they called Sain quee-mon (Sangamon). Two of the early settlers, William and Margaret Higgins, built a cabin near the present day preserve. William Carpenter arrived in 1820 and opened a small farm, established a ferry, and erected a flour and saw mill on the Sangamon River. Carpenter's daughter Sarah inherited the property and eventually sold it to the Springfield Park District in 1922. In spite of heavy use, the preserve still maintains a high quality wet-mesic floodplain forest.

Contributor and Editor: Heather McLean