Skip to main content

The Rock River Times – August 21, 2024

Page 1

August 21, 2024. Vol. 32. No. 13. RockRiverTimes.com.

Burpee staff (L) and NLI Exec Dir Alan Branhagen (R) looking for fossils. (Photo credit: April Bieschke)

NLI to host public opening event at their William & Gayle Keefer Nature Reserve: Natural Land Institute (NLI) invites the public to attend a Public Opening Event at their William & Gayle Keefer Nature Reserve in Rockton, Ill. on Thu., Sept. 26, 2024. The open house will be 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Event parking and check in will be at Woodlands Park, corner of Falcon Point Place and Park View Court, Rockton. Visitors are welcome to take a guided hike or explore on their own. Registration for this free event is requested by noon on Sept. 26th by calling 815/964-6666 or visiting the calendar at www.NaturalLand.org. Light refreshments will be served and attendees will learn about the natural history of this site that includes three quarries, woodlands, and remnant prairie. Rockton Township Historical Society and Burpee Museum of Natural History will participate and share historical and geological information about Keefer Nature Reserve. Fun Fact: Burpee Museum houses a crinoid fossil from this preserve that is named after their first director, Milt Mahlburg. It will be at the event to view. Burpee staff will be on site during the open house so visitors can explore for fossils in one of the quarries. The William & Gayle Keefer Nature Reserve will be open to the public on a daily basis, sunrise to sunset following this Public Opening Event. The public access address and parking lot are located at 12804 Old River Rd., Rockton, Ill. 61072. For more information about this preserve visit https:// www.naturalland.org/william-gayle-keefer-nature-reserve/. About the Natural Land Institute: The Natural Land Institute, an accredited conservation land trust, is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization based in Rockford, Illinois, which has protected 18,000 acres of natural land in Illinois since 1958. The current service area covers twelve counties in northern Illinois. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. For more information and to donate visit NaturalLand.org


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook