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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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Board of Trustees William M. Miller, Ph.D. Chair Mamadou-Abou Sarr Vice Chair Rebecca Gerchenson Treasurer Yvonne Bruce Luis Gutierrez Kunal Kapoor Lydia Link Ian McCutcheon Brad McMillan Pin Ni Ann Suker Potter Shari Rogge-Fidler Alison Taylor Matthew Walker Donald J. Wuebbles, Ph.D. Trustees Emeriti Philip D. Block IV Lynne Dinzole Lynn B. Donaldson Peter H. Fenner Christopher D. Gould Elisha Gray Ted Haffner Ronald S. Levin Ethan Meers Richard E. Sparks, Ph.D. David L. Thomas, Ph.D. M. Jay Trees Life Trustees Harry W. Drucker Constance T. Keller Wendy J. Paulson Brenda Shapiro Nancy Hamill Winter State Director Michelle Carr International Headquarters Arlington, Virginia 703-841-5300
9/21 The Nature Conservancy is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) international membership organization. Its mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Nature Conservancy meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability established by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance is a national charity watchdog affiliated with the Better Business Bureau.
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The Solution is Wetlands What can sequester carbon, reduce excess nutrients running off farms, lessen flooding for communities, provide a haven for plants and animals plus add beauty to a landscape? The answer is wetlands, where even a small ecosystem can make a huge contribution. A 12-year study by Dr. Maria Lemke, TNC’s director of science for Illinois, and Krista Kirkham, TNC’s aquatic ecologist for Illinois, proves the benefits. “Adding wetlands that represent just 6 percent of the adjacent tile-drained agricultural areas reduces nitrogen runoff by nearly 50 percent,” says Lemke. “Applying this approach across the Midwest would dramatically advance local and regional conservation goals.” Illinois remains a major contributor of harmful nutrients to the Mississippi River, with runoff stripping soil of its fertility, contributing to dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and damaging wildlife habitat along the way. The wetlands in the study filtered out nutrients, soaked up floodwaters during storms and slowly released them during dry periods to stabilize the area’s hydrology—precisely as this nature-based solution is supposed to do. To avoid taking excess land out of production while maximizing the conservation benefits, the researchers also
identified the optimal size for wetlands. “Even the smallest wetland showed a 15 to 38 percent reduction of nitrate, so farmers can set the size that works on their land,” states Lemke. “But we need to make it easier for them, for example by reimbursing their construction costs, because these farmers provide a valuable service to people living downstream.” The team worked with Dr. David Kovacic and Mike Wallace at the University of Illinois, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency and the local Soil and Water Conservation District to enroll wetlands on the farm into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Support was provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Conservation Service, McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District and AGREM, LLC. “Our next step is to combine wetlands with in-field practices, like timing of fertilizer application and planting cover crops, to try to reduce the footprint of these approaches,” says Lemke. “And we will help more landowners add wetlands, and their important environmental services, onto their farms.”
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cover: Fall at Nachusa Grasslands © Dee Hudson/TNC; Bison in the prairie near the barn at Nachusa Grasslands © Charles Larry this page: Wetlands on TNC’s Franklin Demonstration Farm in central Illinois, located within the Mackinaw River watershed © Cristina Rutter
Today’s Inspiration, Tomorrow’s Leaders The Nature Conservancy’s youth programs provide exposure to the real projects and challenges facing global conservation organizations. But many participants discover that the most important skills they gain are building relationships and working within communities.
says Danielle Brogan, a Y.E.T. intern. “I also valued learning how to talk with people and communicate about the natural world.” By the end of the program, interns better understand themselves, how to care for both people and nature and how the environment and people are intertwined.
Critical Thinkers Learn Teen Stewards Help at About People and Nature Kankakee Sands At TNC’s Indian Boundary Prairies Preserve, TNC’s Youth Environmental Thinkers (Y.E.T.) program, started by its community engagement specialist Debra Williams, provides 16- to 18-year-old interns with an experience that emphasizes and balances the care and value of people and nature. The program’s focus of “Climate Change Environmentally and Sociologically” is defined and applied as the interns are tasked with watching related videos, conducting research and interviews, taking action-oriented field trips and learning fromTNC’s stewardship team.
“I was already interested in environmental concerns but was surprised by what spending time in nature could do for me,”
At Kankakee Sands Preserve in PembrokeTownship, Illinois, TNC and Pembroke-Hopkins Park Community Development Corporation are continuing a long-term, paid summer intern program started by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We host the interns one day a week,” says Rob Littiken, TNC’s Kankakee Sands project director. “They do the necessary but fun work of restoration, like fixing trails and fencing, controlling invasive species and clearing areas for planting.” “We had an intern who is now a pilot, one who is a hip-hop artist and one who wanted to be a veterinarian but now wants to work in conservation,” says Littiken. “We’re thrilled for all of them.
But we especially like to show interns that there are jobs in this field, and in their community, should they wish to continue.”
Interns Thrive in a Village in the City On Chicago’s South Side, the Imani Green Health Advocates (IGHA) program focuses on conservation, spiritual growth and community health outreach. One of the places where they work is Imani Village, a sustainable mixed-use development with which TNC partners in many ways. TNC supports the IGHA program by funding its conservation interns and a fulltime program leader, while also advising on a curriculum around community conservation and local tree plantings. “I was surprised by the interconnections between social wellness and the environment,” says 22-year-old intern Maybelline Mariscal. “Like how having shade at a bus stop or a garden nearby instantly improves people’s emotional and physical health. I wanted to be a police officer but now I’m considering horticulture because I learned that changing the land where you live provides a healthier environment for the whole community.”
Youth Environmental Thinkers are tomorrow’s conservation leaders. © Debra Williams nature.org/Illinois 3
CONTINUED FROM COVER full-time scientist. On a cool morning in June, Bach traverses a bumpy path across the prairie in an all-terrain vehicle. She is on her way to a woodland to check on the endangered eastern prairie fringed orchids. Dozens of wild bison graze ahead, the calves nursing and frolicking in the sun. One adult, curved horns protruding from her massive hairy head, greets Bach with a loud, snortlike grunt. “Tallgrass prairie is the most endangered ecosystem in the world,” Bach says. She collaborates with 40 researchers who come to Nachusa to collect data on prairie restoration and preservation. “Their research contributes to our management decisions and impacts ecological practices immediately, not only at Nachusa, but across the country and the globe.” But you don’t have to be a Ph.D. scientist to help Nachusa’s research program. Dozens of adult volunteers serve as community scientists. They monitor dragonflies, conduct frog-call surveys, count birds and orchids and take water samples from streams—all indicators of the ecosystem’s health. They also collect
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native seeds, remove invasive plants and are docents at the outdoor visitor center. “Volunteers are central to the restoration work we do at Nachusa,” Bach says. Central to these efforts at Nachusa are controlled fires and the reintroduction of wild bison. Indigenous people used fire in the region for thousands of years to regenerate prairie plants for use as medicine and food. New growth, in turn, attracted bison, which were a principal source of food, clothing, and shelter; and key to their spiritual lives. Bison prefer to eat dominant tallgrasses, thus allowing
more wildflowers and other grasses to flourish. The prairie, in turn, becomes a healthier and more diverse ecosystem. TNC purchased the initial parcel for the preserve in 1986. “The preserve has since grown to be a model of the harmony and reciprocity that keeps nature in balance. Nachusa is a gift to our children and grandchildren. A place to experience the tallgrass prairie that thrived here for millenia, in this beautiful place that we call the Prairie State,” Bach says. Learn more about this special place and how you can get involved at nature.org/Nachusa.
A close-up of a dickcissel in Nachusa Grasslands © Dee Hudson/TNC; Nachusa crew gathering seeds in Nachusa Grasslands Preserve, Illinois © Charles Larry; Research scientist Elizabeth Bach collecting plant biomass © Dee Hudson/TNC
CONSERVATION NEWS IN BRIEF
Welcome Bryan Hopkins, Director of Freshwater Conservation Bryan Hopkins says with a smile that he owns more boats than shoes and is addicted to paddling. “I’ll bring all my connections and my passion for rivers to this work, where I’ll focus on the Illinois River as well as the Upper Mississippi, the Ohio, the Wabash, and others,” he states.
Introducing Randy Smith, Illinois River Project Director
“I’m excited to focus on sites and a region that I’m connected to personally and professionally,” says Smith. © Randy Smith/TNC; © Bryan Hopkins/TNC
Symbiosis, an interaction between two organisms that benefits both, doesn’t just happen in nature; it inspires the way we work. TNC is a member of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), which advances public policies that create healthy environments across Illinois. Ashley Maybanks, the chapter’s director of government relations, is an affiliate on IEC’s board. TNC and IEC work closely as members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which recently helped pass robust, equitable climate legislation in Illinois. The two organizations also join forces to help inform how Illinois can contribute to the federal America the Beautiful Initiative (known as 30x30, an effort to conserve 30 percent of the Earth by 2030), such as by advancing natural climate solutions.
At May’s all-staff retreat at Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove, Illinois, chapter staff welcomed Randy Smith, the new Illinois River project director. Smith will provide leadership and oversight for the restoration and management of TNC’s two floodplain preserves along the Illinois River: Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms.
Hailing from Wisconsin, Smith earned his undergraduate degree in wildlife and biology and studied waterfowl spring migration ecology for his master’s degree. His years with the Illinois Natural History Survey focused on wetlands and wetland-dependent wildlife, including monitoring restoration at Emiquon. Most recently, he worked for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as the wetland wildlife program manager, tackling issues such as wetland management strategies and habitat acquisition. He lives in Havana, Illinois, with his wife and family, where they hunt, mountain bike, camp and enjoy other outdoor activities.
Partnering to Advance Conservation Policy
Hopkins worked on large river system issues with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, where he offered outreach, education and policy coordination. He formerly directed the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Program and participated in the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association and other regional freshwater initiatives. Hopkins is responsible for planning, funding, protection, science, stewardship and community relations related to freshwater conservation. He’ll also implement projects that provide large-scale, tangible and lasting conservation outcomes and climate adaptation benefits for communities affected by flooding.
Jeff Shelden is deputy director of IEC and finds great benefit in the symbiotic relationship. “TNC and IEC collaborate year-round as we plan for legislative sessions, discuss issues of importance to the IEC membership and talk about where we should focus in the long term,” Shelden says. Maybanks adds, “During the legislative session, members consider IEC to be our on-the-ground presence every single day, talking with lawmakers and flagging when important legislation is popping, so we know who and what to mobilize to either support good or oppose bad bills. Working together, we can leverage resources to make the most impact from a state perspective, especially to pass strong climate legislation. Up next is advancing legislation that supports nature-based solutions and natural climate solutions. We couldn’t do that without IEC’s support each step of the way.” nature.org/Illinois 5
Before and After Bison: Research Illuminates a Surprisingly Subtle Impact Bison had been missing from Illinois prairies for 140 years when they were reintroduced to Nachusa Grasslands in 2014. The change returned an iconic species to the tallgrass prairie landscape it once roamed, and provided an opportunity to study the ways bison affect their habitat. To date, TNC staff and partners have released more than 15 scientific papers on the topic. Dr. Elizabeth Bach, the ecosystem research scientist at Nachusa Grasslands, shares what researchers are learning and why it matters. What makes the reintroduction of bison at Nachusa unique? This is the first time the species was introduced as a conservation herd east of the Mississippi River. In reintroductions in the west, the grasslands were mostly intact. At Nachusa, they are quite recently restored. We have lots of questions about how this re-created landscape—and its component plants, insects, birds and other species—are responding to the presence of bison.
Why are we studying the bison, and why is it important to publish that research in scientific journals? Ecology is the study of the relationships among living organisms and with their physical environment, and that’s exactly what we’re exploring. We know bison have an outsize role in shaping diversity; yet, because bison haven’t been in the Illinois region for a long time, there are no data about their role here. Sharing our work with the scientific community expands knowledge about how tallgrass prairie ecosystems function. Publishing also holds us accountable to our goal of restoring the ecology at Nachusa. What are the common threads of the existing studies? What are we learning? My job is to look at what’s happening with all the plants and animals, how management and restoration practices affect the whole ecosystem and how communities of species and those practices interact.
A herd of bison in Nachusa Grasslands © Charles Larry 6 ILLINOIS UPDATE 2022 FALL
In contrast with what we hypothesized, our studies show that few of the insects, plants, small mammals or birds seem impacted by the bison. It’s harmonious, not negative or positive. Except for now-thriving populations of dung beetles, because there’s a lot more poop on the landscape! We also learned that what we thought were generalizable patterns about North American tallgrass prairies may not be. Nachusa is very different from a place like Kansas, which had a huge ecological response in the first five years after bison reintroductions. So perhaps our grasslands were already productive because we’d been managing them so intensively. Or maybe we will see differences, but not for 10 or 15 years. That’s why we’ll keep inviting scientists, as well as deepening partnerships with Indigenous communities and others, to advance research at Nachusa.
New Guide Shines Sun on Pollinators Native prairie plants that support pollinators—including bees, butterflies and other insects—can play a big role in the transition to renewable energy. As the use of solar energy expands, Illinois has a unique opportunity to increase biodiversity and support pollinators by pairing solar arrays with pollinator-friendly habitat. “Last September, Illinois passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which significantly ramps up investments to accelerate the transition to renewable energy,” says Karen Petersen, the Illinois chapter’s climate and energy program manager. “We’ll quickly see more wind and solar projects on the ground, and solar arrays are ideal locations to plant for pollinators.” Pollinator-friendly plantings not only create a food source for insects like the endangered monarch butterfly, they can
also provide habitat for many birds and small mammals, improve water retention and runoff and increase the productivity of solar panels by creating a localized cooling effect. In collaboration with the Pollinator Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting pollinators, TNC is creating a guide to inform renewable energy developers and other interested groups about best practices for incorporating pollinator habitat within ground-mounted solar installations in Illinois. The guide will cover the basics of site preparation, planting and management, as well as suggested seed mixes. “We want to make it standard practice for developers to choose pollinator-friendly plants instead of turf grass, gravel or low-diversity plant mixes.” Petersen states. “We also want to highlight how
certain decision points in the solar development process can dramatically limit or expand the potential for success.” For instance, increasing the height of panels to at least two feet at the lowest point can enable a much broader diversity of plants to grow and increase a site’s attractiveness to pollinators. With this guide, TNC aims to encourage more solar developers to incorporate high-quality and diverse native plantings into their projects to maximize the benefits of renewable energy for nature. Ensuring that all new ground-mounted solar includes pollinator-friendly habitat could have a substantial impact in Illinois, where restoring native prairie is a priority. The guide will be available online before the end of this year at nature.org/Illinois.
clockwise from upper left: Hummingbird on sedum flowers © Sandra Rust/TNC Photo Contest 2019; Red admiral butterfly on a purple coneflower © Charles Larry; Blackwasp on Whorled Milkweed © Dee Hudson/TNC; Monarch butterfly on gayfeather © Dee Hudson/TNC
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Explore nature with us!
This fall, take an opportunity to connect with nature by visiting a TNC preserve. See the full list of Illinois preserves at nature.org/preserves.
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