TNC- The Nature of Illinois- winter 2023 by TNCMRC

WINTER 2023

After the Levee Broke … Again January 2, 2016: Bursting with record rainfall, the Mississippi River broke open a mile-long gap in the levee wall near Dogtooth Bend peninsula, at the southwest tip of Illinois. Roughly one-third the volume of the river flowed through the breach, estimates the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When the river retreated, it left behind sand dunes, deep craters and gullies. Local landowners like Bill McClarney saw their farms and livelihoods upended. “We sustained a lot of damage, a lot of scouring, trash everywhere, and four- to six-feet high sand drifts,” he says. The 2016 flood was not the first or last catastrophic deluge in Dogtooth Bend. Locals list flood years—such as 1993 and 2019— as easily as family birthdays. But the 2016

flood didn’t just break a levee. It also made landowners question the future of farming in Dogtooth Bend. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) held listening sessions to learn how best to help. “Multiple landowners told us the river has changed, and that it will likely never go back to the way it was,” says Viv Bennett, director of protection and conservation strategies. Today, TNC is working with federal agencies to provide landowners with a financially viable way to transition from crop farming in the area. At the same time, TNC and partners will be restoring the peninsula’s floodplains, which are low-lying natural areas adapted to flooding, into habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife.

IN THIS ISSUE: 2 It Takes a Network of Volunteers 3 Winter Adventures Await in TNC Preserves 3 Test Your Knowledge: Wildlife Success Stories 4 Crops + Nature: A Collaboration 6 Community News Briefs 7 The Transition to Solar and Wind Power 7 Saving Forests in Indonesia

continued on page 5 nature.org/Illinois 1

It Takes a Network of Volunteers

Board of Trustees William M. Miller, PhD Chair Mamadou-Abou Sarr Vice Chair Rebecca Gerchenson Treasurer

Green spaces in Illinois depend on local stewards.

Yvonne Bruce Luis Gutierrez Kunal Kapoor Lydia Link Ian McCutcheon Brad McMillan Pin Ni Ann Suker Potter Yeming Rankin Shari Rogge-Fidler Alison Taylor Matthew Walker Karen Weigert Donald J. Wuebbles, PhD 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, PhD David L. Thomas, PhD 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

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.

2 ILLINOIS UPDATE 2023 WINTER

“The grant from the Volunteer Stewardship Network kickstarted our preservation work.” Providing Needed Support

A member of Out in Nature (OIN), which organizes outdoor meetups for LGBTQIA+ individuals. © OIN

A stretch of prairie off a rural road. A community garden in the shade of a city high-rise. A forest preserve at the edge of a suburb. No matter where you are in Illinois, there’s nature to be found and enjoyed. Yet all of these green spaces require regular upkeep. Fortunately, Illinois has lots of local volunteer organizations that help steward these areas, removing invasive plants, planting seedlings or performing other needed tasks. To support these groups, TNC partnered with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to form The Volunteer Stewardship Network (VSN). “In the beginning, we supported volunteer groups stewarding Illinois-designated nature preserves,” says TNC’s Brooke Thurau, conservation partnership and network specialist. “Over time, we expanded to also support groups tending other green spaces, including community gardens and natural areas in parks.”

Today, at age 40, the VSN provides financial and educational support to 140+ public and private organizations in Illinois. For instance, between 2021 and 2022, the network awarded more than $100,000 to groups for supplies and tools (e.g., tree saplings, saws), educational opportunities and community engagement efforts. Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves (Friends) used its grant to buy supplies that volunteers needed to restore Kishwaukee Fen Nature Preserve, in Lakewood. “The grant from the Volunteer Stewardship Network kickstarted our preservation work, which helped us gain the support of village officials,” says Friends director Amy Doll.

Engaging Everyone in Conservation VSN funds are also being used to engage communities that are often left out of conservation efforts, such as people with disabilities, people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals. For instance, the Friends of the Forest Preserves, which cares for Cook County Forest Preserves, used a VSN grant to host a community gathering for Spanish speakers that included a bilingual bird walk and culturally relevant snacks that were sourced locally. Learn more and find volunteer opportunities at nature.org/volunteeril.

Printed on 100% PCW recycled, process chlorine-free paper, creating the following benefits:

51.5

trees preserved for the future

3,846.8 gal.

waterborne waste not produced

7,464.7 lbs.

net greenhouse gases prevented

cover: The Dogtooth Bend peninsula after Mississippi flooding. © Tharran Hobson (flight service donated by LightHawk)

PROTECTING LAND FOR NATURE & PEOPLE

Snowshoeing is a fun way to explore TNC preserves in winter. © Phoebe Parker/TNC

A monarch butterfly? Think again. See answer 1 in the quiz. © Chris Helzer

Winter Adventures Await in TNC Preserves Across the Midwest

Test Your Knowledge: Wildlife Success Stories

With blustery days, snow flurries and icicles in the forecast, now’s the time to plan a winter adventure. Here are just a few of the outdoor activities you can enjoy this winter. To plan your preserve visit, go to nature.org/preserves.

About 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, according to an assessment by The Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. To help species in the Midwest, TNC and our partners are working to protect their habitats. As a result, many species are making a comeback. To learn about some of the species that have rebounded in the Midwest, take the quiz below.

Cold, clear winter nights are perfect for spotting stars, meteors and even the Northern Lights. Remote nature preserves that are farther north have less light pollution, creating ideal conditions for your excursion. Check out: TNC’s Mary Macdonald Preserve at Horseshoe Harbor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Cross Country Skiing or Snowshoeing Take in the sights and sounds of winter as you traverse peaceful landscapes covered in a blanket of snow. Check out: TNC’s North Bay Preserve in Wisconsin’s Door County.

Bird Watching Many bird species, from great horned owls to bald eagles, begin their breeding and nesting season during winter. Check out: TNC’s Grand Calumet River Conservation Area in Indiana.

Ice Fishing Enjoy the peace of winter from a comfortable spot on a frozen lake. Check out: TNC’s Emiquon Preserve, near Peoria, Illinois.

Hiking Pack a thermos of hot chocolate, keep an eye out for wildlife tracks in the snow and enjoy having the trail all to yourself during this quiet time of year. Check out: TNC’s J. Arthur Herrick Fen Nature Preserve near Streetsboro, Ohio.

Quiz 1. What orange and black butterfly eats only tender young violet leaves as a caterpillar? 2. Door County, Wisconsin hosts the world’s greatest abundance of this endangered flying insect. What is this insect? 3. What fish were the most harvested in the Great Lakes during the boom days of commercial fisheries in the late 1800s to early 1900s? 4. Which previously endangered mammal can run up to 30 miles per hour, is a skilled swimmer and can leap as far as 12 feet? 5. What iconic bird almost became extinct due to the use of the chemical insecticide DDT, as well as habitat loss and illegal hunting? 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, which was critical to saving many rare species. Learn about other wildlife success stories at nature.org/comebacks. Answers: 1. regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia); 2. Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana); 3. cisco (Coregonus artedi); 4. bobcat (Lynx rufus); 5. bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Stargazing

nature.org/Illinois 3

FARMS & FIELDS

Crops + Nature: A Collaboration The rich soil in Illinois is one of the state’s vital natural resources, allowing for the production of more than $20 billion a year in crop commodities, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. But decades of farming have taken their toll, reducing soil health and contributing to water quality issues in lakes, rivers and streams. In response, growing numbers of farmers and landowners are embracing regenerative agriculture, which promotes an interconnected relationship between farming and nature. TNC is working with partners to support farmers and landowners in adopting regenerative strategies, such as the ones described below. “The benefits are many on and off the farm, from improved soil health and increased biodiversity to reduced soil erosion,” says TNC’s Megan Baskerville, agriculture program director. Learn more at nature.org/illinoisfood.

Soil Health Management Practices

Soil is a living ecosystem. Regenerative approaches aim to keep this ecosystem healthy by maximizing soil cover, minimizing soil disturbance, maintaining living roots in the soil and maximizing biodiversity of insects, microorganisms, etc.

Edge-of-Field Practices

Designed to slow, filter and process water that runs off croplands, these practices help keep nutrients and sediments out of lakes, rivers and streams while providing multiple benefits for people and nature.

Benefits

Soil fertility

Water quality

Biodiversity

Support for pollinators

Soil erosion by wind and rain

Biodiversity

Equipment overhead with reduced tillage

Nutrient runoff

No-till or strip-till Planting into the undisturbed residue of previous crops or only tilling narrow strips

Wetlands Restoring or constructing wetlands (areas covered by water at least part of the year)

Nutrient management Responsibly applying fertilizers to limit leaching of nutrients into groundwater

Prairie strips Maintaining strips of native prairie plants within or at the edges of fields

Cover crops Planting non-cash crops outside the growing season or when cash crops aren’t present

Vegetated buffers Establishing permanent vegetation on land adjacent to streams

Crop rotation Following a planting sequence with at least two crops and alternates per year

Conservation drainage Capturing and treating nutrients entering waterways from tile drainage systems

Integrating livestock Allowing livestock on fields when cash crops aren’t present to provide nutrients via manure

4 ILLINOIS UPDATE 2023 WINTER

photo/art credits: No till: © Eileen Bader; Nutrient management: © Vecteezy; Cover crops: © Eileen Bader; Crop rotation: Corn © Chris Helzer, Soybeans © Mike Wilkinson; Integrating livestock: © Jared Culbertson/TNC; Wetlands: © Adobestock; Prairie strips: © Vecteezy; Vegetated buffer: NRCS/SWCS photo by Lynn Betts; Conservation drainage: © Adobestock

CONNECTED WATERS

continued from cover

Helping People on the Frontlines Recognizing that his farmland in Dogtooth Bend could not be saved, McClarney took advantage of conservation easements offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Under easements, landowners retain ownership of their land, but they voluntarily sell some of their real estate usage rights. In this case, that means converting croplands into restored floodplains and wetlands. In partnership with the NRCS, TNC helped release $14.5 million of federal funding to purchase easements from interested farmers and landowners. Besides providing a funding match, TNC worked with NRCS to determine criteria for selecting qualifying acres (for example, land with high sand deposits from floods). “In the past, as soon as river floods retreated, it felt like everybody forgot about us,” McClarney says. “But TNC has been persistent in trying to help.” Over 2,700 acres in Dogtooth Bend are now under conservation easements. The easement program has helped create momentum for change in the community, which will likely grow in light of the recent expansion of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. In September, FWS announced plans to acquire up to 90,000 acres from interested landowners in southern Illinois and eastern Missouri, including in Dogtooth Bend. The ultimate goal is to restore large swaths of floodplain forests and wildlife habitats.

Rethinking River Management Rivers naturally overflow during heavy rain events. However, human-built barriers to prevent flooding, such as levees, have altered this dynamic. “It’s like the old adage: a five-gallon bucket won’t hold six gallons of water,” says McClarney. “It’s the same way with the Mississippi. The river is channeled and

The least tern, one of many species benefiting from restoration work in Dogtooth Bend. © Shutterstock

“In the past, as soon as river floods retreated, it felt like everybody forgot about us. But TNC has been persistent in trying to help.” leveed up so much it can’t spread out. The only place to go is up.”

work on this project has been supported, in part, by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation.

During TNC listening sessions, landowners noted the significant changes they have seen in the river and weather over their lifetimes. “They observed that there is typically too much rain, with too much intensity, during the wrong times of the year,” says Bennett.

Earlier this year, the private levee district in Dogtooth Bend decided not to repair the levee that broke in 2016. Instead, the district asked the Army Corps of Engineers to build an over-topping structure, which is like a speed bump that slows down but doesn’t stop flood waters. This approach bodes well for restoration work. “One risk of planting in high flood zones is that the speed of water can rip out what you plant,” says Bennett. “By slowing the speed, the saplings have a better chance of surviving.”

Restoring floodplains provides many benefits. In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, floodplains remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere and improve the quality of water flowing into streams, lakes and rivers by filtering out excess nitrogen, phosphorus and sediments. Floodplains also allow water to spread out so it can soak into the ground, increasing groundwater storage and refilling local drinking wells. In Dogtooth Bend, TNC and partners are working to restore the peninsula to a bottomland hardwood forest and wetland complex. This will include planting 1.6 million trees donated by the Arbor Day Foundation. In coming years, visitors will be able to enjoy acres of forests and wetlands intermixed with white sandbars. TNC’s

McClarney has mixed feelings about the changes in Dogtooth Bend. “It’s a shame because this was the garden spot of our county,” he says. At the same time, McClarney is grateful that his land may soon attract more wildlife and possibly bring recreational opportunities. “I’d like to see somebody make the land better conservation-wise, maybe help bring duck hunters or other visitors back to the community.” Learn more about TNC’s work along the Mississippi at nature.org/mississippiflooding.

nature.org/Illinois 5

COMMUNITY NEWS BRIEFS

Nature Play

Indigenous Peoples

Kankakee Sands

Partnering with the Chicago Park District

More Buffalo Return to Tribal Lands

Staff Spotlight: Mihesha Gibbs

In parks across Chicago, children can use logs, sticks and other natural materials to engineer their own fun. They are building tipis, obstacle courses and other structures at 17 Chicago Park District nature play spaces. The newest one, at Jackie Robinson Park—designed and championed by students and teacher Ms. Yolanda Pender-Bay from Mount Vernon Elementary School—was built in partnership with TNC. “This is the first nature play space we’ve helped with, and we hope to get more spaces like this across the finish line,” says TNC’s John Legge, Chicago conservation director. Benefits of nature play are well documented. “On a slide, you can slide. On a swing, you can swing. Those are pretty easy to master,” says the Park District’s Sean Shaffer, nature engagement specialist. “But kids will never master a log or a stick. Studies show that nature play makes kids more resilient, more creative—and they’ll get better grades.”

6 ILLINOIS UPDATE 2023 WINTER

In October, more than 30 buffalo from TNC’s Nachusa Grasslands, near Franklin Grove, Illinois, made an important journey: They returned home to Tribal lands in the Midwest. This effort, led by the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), is part of a burgeoning partnership to restore a critical species to Indigenous peoples. “Buffalo are a keystone species, both for the land and people,” says Cody Considine, Nachusa’s deputy director. “Their return to Indigenous communities supports spiritual, ecological, cultural and economic revitalization and strengthens tribal sovereignty.” ITBC has transferred more than 20,000 buffalo to Native American Tribes nationwide since its founding in 1992. TNC joined ITBC’s effort in 2020, with the transfer of buffalo from preserves in Illinois and Colorado. In 2022 alone, more than 700 animals returned home to Tribal lands. These efforts honor the historical, cultural, ecological and spiritual connections that Indigenous peoples have with buffalo. Learn more at nature.org/buffalo.

Mihesha Gibbs recently joined TNC as the community engagement specialist at Kankakee Sands-Illinois preserve. Born and raised in Pembroke Township, where the preserve is located, Gibbs is using her experience as a community advocate and elected official, as well as her knowledge of the region’s natural areas, to foster relationships between TNC and Pembroke residents. “My goal is to listen to the people who live here and create opportunities for them to enjoy Kankakee Sands,” she says. Gibbs is focusing on communication with community members and organizations and participating in local events like the Blueberry Festival. She also helps with Mighty Acorns, a youth environmental education program, and the Youth Environmental Stewardship program, which employs young people to help with restoration work. “I take pride in the beauty of Pembroke,” Gibbs says. “I am honored to be a part of an organization that is conserving the most beautiful parts of the place we call home.” Visit nature.org/kankakeesandsil.

BUILDING CLIMATE-RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

The Transition to Solar and Wind Power Switching from fossil fuels to clean energy sources like solar and wind is critical to cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. However, there are tradeoffs. One concern: The amount of land needed for renewables. Using current siting practices, solar and wind installations would take up more than 250,000 square miles—an area bigger than Texas—to achieve a net-zero carbon economy nationwide by 2050. But there’s another, better way. A TNC report, called Power of Place, shows that it is possible to cut the amount of land needed for solar and wind in half and still meet the U.S. net-zero goal. The report details how to reduce impacts to native habitats and wildlife, as well as to agricultural lands and local communities.

A Need for Careful Planning Careful planning and robust community engagement are critical when siting solar and wind projects. One key strategy is siting projects in low-impact, low-conflict lands that are not valued for agriculture, wildlife and other key priorities. Examples include degraded lands, such as abandoned coal mines or landfills. The report also presents practical land-saving tactics for siting renewables. One is the co-location of wind and solar in the

same area. Another is agrivoltaics, which includes planting crops beneath or between solar panels.

Prioritizing Agricultural Lands Illinois ranks third in the United States for the export of agricultural commodities. TNC partnered with American Farmland Trust to identify the most productive working lands in the nation and analyzed how we can achieve our boldest climate goals while avoiding these areas. “Engaging communities and agriculture partners is essential for a smooth transition,” says TNC’s Illinois director, Michelle Carr. “Working together from the start ensures that we don’t lose time in the clean energy switch, time we cannot afford to lose.” Read the report at nature.org/powerofplace.

One Conservancy

Saving Forests in Indonesia TNC has programs all over the world that benefit people and nature. Here’s one example from Indonesia. The palm oil industry is critical to Indonesia’s economy and has helped lift millions of people out of poverty. But the expansion of palm oil plantations is also tied to the loss of more than one third of the country’s rainforests (SEI, 2022). Forests are a key tool for fighting climate change. When trees are cut down, much of the CO2 they store is released. TNC’s main partner in Indonesia, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), inspires and empowers Indonesian villagers to ensure their livelihoods while conserving forests and other natural resources. Villagers are trained in a community empowerment approach known as SIGAP, which stands for “Communities Inspiring Actions for Change.” They learn how to develop land-use plans, create new revenue streams and obtain legal rights to manage local forests. Villages have used SIGAP to help develop local businesses that sustain rather than

deplete forests, such as the small-scale production of honey, cacao and jungle rubber. “The SIGAP approach supports villagers to first identify, and then internalize, the fact that they have exceptional strength and abilities to take actions to change their lives, as well as preserve their environment,” says YKAN’s Herlina Hartanto, PhD, executive director. Learn more at ykan.or.id/en. nature.org/Illinois 7

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