FALL 2022
Nachusa Grasslands: Restoring and Preserving an Ancient Habitat By Lynne Weinberg, a Nature Conservancy member and special contributing writer Conservancy’s (TNC’s) Nachusa Grasslands preserve in north-central Illinois, you can still experience the prairie as it once was.
When Illinois became known as the Prairie State in the 1840s, thousands of square miles of tallgrass prairie, wetlands and oak and hickory savanna covered the landscape. Today, Illinois’s prairie has all but disappeared, 99.9 percent of it converted for agriculture and human development. But at The Nature
Here, prairie stretches out in every direction—a rare sight in Illinois—and the landscape is brushed with a rainbow of wildflowers. You can hike on paths through tall, rustling grasses, as butterflies and dragonflies dive and drift above. You can birdwatch; grasshopper sparrows, dickcissels and Henslow’s sparrows are among the more than 246 species that rely on Nachusa’s habitat. Nachusa’s 4,000 acres encompass both native prairie habitat and restored agricultural fields with new plantings. Dr. Elizabeth Bach, an expert in ecosystem restoration, is Nachusa’s continued on page 4
IN THIS ISSUE: 2 The Solution is Wetlands 3 Today’s Inspiration, Tomorrow’s Leaders 5 Conservation News in Brief 6 Before and After Bison: Research Illuminates a Surprisingly Subtle Impact 7 New Guide Shines Sun on Pollinators
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