Illinois Prairies are Brilliant with September Colors and Wildlife
Aug 31, 2020 ● By Sheryl DeVore
Photo by Steven D. Bailey
Stepping into a prairie in
September overwhelms the senses as vibrant purple and yellow blooms sway in the
wind and bees buzz gathering pollen amid the final days of summer’s heat and
humidity. “Goldenrod and New England asters are so bright and rich at this time
of year,” says Veronica Hinke, public affairs officer and public services team
leader at the USDA Forest Service Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, in Wilmington. “This is
the time of year when cheery yellows of goldenrods and deep purples of asters
and bottle gentian come together, and the prairie is vibrant with complementary
colors.”
She notes, “Even the
grasses provide new color this time of year. You can see fields covered in
hazes of browns and yellows, and if you look closely, you might even see the
bottle gentian blooming.” Bottle gentian is one of several species that produce
purple blooms in high-quality prairies.
Before European settlement, the prairies, a
blend of short and tall grasses, along with forbs that bloom spring through
fall, covered 60 per cent of present-day Illinois. Bison herds once roamed
there. Approximately 2,300 acres of high-quality remnant prairie is left in the
state, according to the Illinois Natural History Survey. “A remnant is simply
prairie that is untouched by the plow or by construction and development,”
explains Cindy Crosby, author of The
Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction.
Both the 20,000-acre
Midewin and the 3,600-acre Nachusa Grasslands, near Franklin Grove,
harbor remnant prairies as well as woods, wetlands and restored prairies
maintained to approximate how they looked before they were settled. Other small
parcels of untouched prairie include the Berkeley Prairie Forest Preserve, in
Highland Park, James Woodworth Prairie, in Glenview, and Wolf Road Prairie, in
Westchester—all open to the public. A native prairie remnant was discovered on
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District property in Hanover Park, although this
parcel is not open to the public.
Volunteers and staff at
Midewin, Nachusa and many other natural areas in the state are constructing
prairies where they did not exist before or returning disturbed land back to
the prairie it once was. Two examples are the Schulenberg Prairie at Morton Arboretum and Fermi Lab Prairie, in Batavia. The latter is one of the
nation’s earliest tallgrass prairie restorations, a term often used interchangeably
to refer to any remnant, planting or reconstruction being cared for by land
stewards. Midewin and Nachusa serve as two examples of how private citizens and
governmental agencies can work together to restore native prairie. Both offer
unfettered views of the prairie landscape and the opportunity to see
reintroduced bison.
Nachusa Grasslands,
managed by The Nature Conservancy, is open from dawn to dusk, and allows the
public to hike anywhere, even off trails, except for fenced areas. In the
1980s, prairie lovers told The Nature Conservancy about farmland 100 miles west
of Chicago where a few acres of remnant prairies remained intact interspersed
with woodlands and cornfields. A 300-acre purchase back then led to the
eventual protection of 3,600 acres of prairie, wetland and woodlands. There,
staff and volunteers remove invasive species, sow seeds, make prescribed burns
and monitor wildlife to help prairies thrive.
Crosby, a volunteer
steward, says visitors to Nachusa should start at the outdoor visitors center
pavilion, open from dawn to dusk daily. Displays there provide a sense of the
region’s natural and cultural heritage. Visitors to the grassland can hike near
the visitor center, spot bison or drive to one of five trailheads to explore
the September grasslands and associated wetland sand woodlands. They are also
encouraged to leave the trails to explore, something not every conservation
area allows.
Crosby recommends hiking
Clear Creek Knolls to wade in a creek on hot days. The trailhead is on Lowden
Road, north of the visitors center. Visitors can hike on mowed lanes or go off
trail among 300 acres of restored prairie and a remnant hill prairie.
In September, look for cup
plant, Western sunflower, fringed gentian, prairie gentian, rough blazing star,
showy goldenrod, cream gentian, partridge pea, compass plant and rattlesnake
master (NachusaGrasslands.org/september.html).
Midewin is USDA Forest
Service land, and was established as a national tallgrass prairie in 1996 on
the former site of the Joliet army ammunition plant, and 200 acres within the
property are untouched remnant prairie. Roughly 3,000 acres at Midewin are
being restored to prairie. Thirty miles of non-motorized trails can be explored
from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Having local seeds is
important in prairie restorations, and at Midewin, visitors can see many flower
species in bloom at the River Road seed beds. To get to there, exit River Road
off Interstate 55, drive east for 1.5 miles to Boathouse Road and go north to
the parking area. “At the River Road
seed beds, you can see fields full of all different types of goldenrod, now at
their peak and in full color,” Hinke says. Aster species are also blooming;
some are white, others are pink; some have large flower heads, like the New
England aster, with its purple petals and yellow center.
“This area is just
bursting with color,” Hinke adds. Among her favorites are the bright white
asters. “It’s incredible to see that,” she says. “It’s like snow in September.”
Grassland Versus Prairie:
Grasslands is a broad term referring to regions worldwide that are dominated by grasses with very few trees. For example, Brazil has grasslands called cerrados, and in Asia, grasslands are called steppes. North America’s grasslands include tallgrass prairie. So all prairies are grasslands, but not all grasslands are prairies.
Prairie Happenings
The annual Midewin National Tallgrass Prairies fall color hike will be held virtually at 7 p.m., September 15. To participate, email [email protected].
The Forest Preserve District of Will County will host a prairie pedal bike ride from 8 a.m. to noon, September 26 in observance of National Public Lands Day. The ride will go through Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. For more information, visit ReconnectWithNature.org and choose the September calendar link.
Conditions may change, check the websites in advance. Be sure to follow all location, local and CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing.
In-Print, Green Living
Feature
Environment
Nature
Sustainability
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
USDA Forest Service
Healthy Chicago
Nachusa Grasslands
September 2020
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Wolf Road Prairie
The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction
Schulenberg Prairie at Morton Arboretum
Fermi Lab Prairie
The Nature Conservancy
