GPF Buys Land to Protect High-Quality Forest!
by Gail Snowden
On January 6, 2012 Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) purchased a 140-acre property in Coles County - our biggest project ever! The purchase of Dolan Woods (Dolan is the name of the seller. We invite you to suggest a more fitting name for the property) is an important and exciting conservation acquisition for the region and GPF. Adjacent to Warbler Woods Nature Preserve, acquisition of this property will expand protected forest habitat vital to hundreds of species of plants, birds, mammals, and other wildlife.
This acquisition protects a large expanse of dry-mesic and mesic upland forest. The new property lies adjacent to the 202-acre Warbler Woods Nature Preserve, about two miles north of Fox Ridge State Park, about a mile east of a portion of the Embarrass River, and only four miles south of Charleston. Taken together, these woods and adjacent Warbler Woods contain approximately 339 acres of forest and re-planted forest. The woods harbor over 100 different types of plants including many species that typically occur in high-quality woods. The state-threatened fibrous-rooted sedge (Carex communis) occurs in at least 4 locations along slopes in the woods and the regionally uncommon rattlesnake plantain orchid (Goodyera pubescens) occurs here also.
Notable animal species of conservation concern inhabit the woods or occur in adjacent forest habitat. Breeding bird surveys conducted during the spring of 2011 indicated 42 species, including 7 identified as Species in Greatest Need of Conservation—Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Worm Eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Kentucky Warbler, and Field Sparrow. The relatively rare Wood Frog also occurs here.
This new property qualifies for registration as a Land and Water Reserve, and GPF will petition the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to dedicate and permanently protect the property as Land and Water Reserve. GPF plans to hold, protect, and steward this property in perpetuity.
Funding
Acquisition of the property was possible due to generous gifts from members and friends and grants from three organizations. GPF secured grants from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation ($176,692), the Grand Victoria Foundation ($169,840), and the Lumpkin Family Foundation ($44,000). GPF members and friends donated $58,000! The gifts of members and friends were a key indicator to the granting organizations of our commitment to the project. We are grateful for each gift.
Restoration and stewardship
The acquisition of the woods is the largest project Grand Prairie Friends has tackled and is just a first step. The job of stewardship is ahead of us. GPF will draw upon ecological restoration expertise and the ability to carry out tasks from our members and friends. A local Charleston group, Embarrass Volunteer Stewards, has members willing to put in volunteer time. A neighbor, valuable partner, and steward of Warbler Woods, David Mott, will also help steward this property.
Grand Prairie Friends will call upon the expertise of local IDNR personnel to draft and carry out conservation objectives and management strategies. Mary Kay Solecki with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission has already drafted a management plan. Roger Jansen with IDNR will lead ecological restoration work as well as biological monitoring activities. Removal of invasive plant species and prescribed fire are the main strategies that will be employed to maintain biodiversity and forest structure. GPF has many members who are biologists and ecologists with the Illinois Natural History Survey, and their expertise can be called upon to assist with restoration and biotic inventories and monitoring.
Open to the Public
A dedication event is being planned for the spring with guided walks by knowledgeable biologists and naturalists—more details to come later.
To facilitate access, GPF will build a small parking area and erect signage with information about the property. As long as visitors respect the property, respect the biodiversity it contains, and respect adjacent property boundaries, they are free to wander.
We will coordinate stewardship events with Embarras Volunteer Stewards, and we will coordinate educational field trips with Illinois Audubon Society. With Eastern Illinois University only a few miles away, GPF will connect with faculty and staff in the biology department to engage in service learning opportunities. We plan to create an informational brochure available on the website and on-site.
As an engaged member of the conservation community you will benefit from this acquisition. The property is a place where you can go to bird watch, hike, photograph, and enjoy the beauty of a central-Illinois forest. Instructors at Eastern Illinois University will gain another place where they can teach ecology, botany, ornithology, and other biological sciences. Local teachers and environmental educators will also be able to take interested citizens and students to engage them in nature education.
Get involved
As a GPF member or friend please join us and be part of this exciting acquisition in a number of ways. Be part of the site dedication event on June 2 (details TBA); help name the property (send your suggestions to james.ellis72 AT gmail DOT com); lend a hand with stewardship efforts; or take a personal tour and enjoy a beautiful piece of central Illinois that you have helped to preserve. Updates on upcoming events will be posted to the GPF website and Facebook!
Grand Prairie Friends thanks these donors who made the purchase and protection of 140 acres of high-quality forest in Coles County possible.
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation Vital Lands Illinois
Lumpkin Family Foundation
Champaign County Audubon Society
Embarras Volunteer Stewards
Illinois Audubon Society
Anonymous (13)
Charlene Anchor
Roger and Rebecca Anderson
David and Karen Andsager
Barbara Badger
George and Sandra Batzli
Carolyn Baxley
Drew and Melissa Becker
Alice Berkson
Christopher Berti
Virginia Bradford
Clark Bullard
Craig Milling and Carla Caceres
Marilyn Campbell
Angelo Capparella
Clara Castelo
Judi Chase
Elizabeth Chato
Douglas Chien
Heather Collins
Janice Coons
Nancy Coutant
Earl and Lynda Creutzburg
Connie Cunningham
Duane and Connie Dassow
Fred and Nancy Delcomyn
Charles Delman
Patrick Dill
John Dimit
Stuart Martin and Sally Duncan
Betty Earle
Frank DiNovo and Carol Emmerling-DiNovo
Robert and Mary Ann Espeseth
Brenda Molano-Flores and Mary Ann Feist
Karen Flesher
Michael and Karen Folk
Beverly Foote (Donation made in Memory of Brenda Dreisow)
Rich Raspet and Wendy Garrison
Stephen Glosser
Ed and Virginiana Gordon
Charlotte Green
Beckie Green
Michael Walker and Kristina Gunsalus
William and Elaine Hall
Glennadene Hamel
Susan Hargreaves (Donation made in Honor of Sheryl and David Krohne)
Ted Harris
Wendy and Chris Harris
Jim and Paula Herget
Stanley Herrin
Susan and Lew Hopkins
James Hoyt
Sarah Hurley
Gary and Dixie Jackson
Doug Jackson
Susan Post and Michael Jeffords
Rachel Kasianowicz
Ellen Keiter
Todd Kinney
James Kleinhans
Linda Klepinger
Keith Kohanzo
Peter and Betsy Kuchinke
Jessica Kurylo
Marilyn Morris and Larry LaPre
Geoffrey Levin
Derek Liebert
Jason Koontz and Todd Linscott
Laura Lyon
David Main
John and Diane Marlin
Jana Mason and Dick Anderson
Vicki May
David Meller
Alan Metcalf
Allen Plocher and Renie Miles
Andrew and Jennifer Miller
Mike and Scottie Miller
Georgia Morgan (donation made in memory of Raymond Czarnecki)
David Mott
James Nardi
John and Cheryl Nimz
Charles Nixon
Daniel Olson
Dean and Nancy Olson
Milton and Elizabeth Otto
Helen M. Parker
Anne Phillips
Paula and James Pogue
Stephen and Esther Portnoy
Kirby and Cindy Pringle
Terry and Judy Rathgeber
Tom and Beverly Rauchfuss
James Riley
Lynn D. Riley
George Rose
Richard Schicht
Doug Jones and Catherine Schmidt-Jones
Lynne Scott
Dennis Sears
Eric L. Smith
Philip Hult
Mary Kay Solecki
Donation made in Honor of Dr. and Mrs. Barry Hunt
Mary Kay Solecki
Donation made in Honor of the marriage of Jack Paxton and Sharon Monday
Gail Snowdon
Timothy Staber
Robert Stanton
Mary Stech
David Sutherland
Cynthia Swanson
Bob and Diane Szafoni
David Thomas
Larry Thorsen
David and Justine Trout
Robert Vaiden
Alexander and Joan Ware
Loren and Diane Wasson
James Ellis and Melinda Watts-Ellis
Harriet Weatherford
Joseph and Patricia Wenzel
Doris Westfall
Diane and Ed Wilhite
Jason Willand
Linda Wilson
Ramona Wise
Kam and Betsy Wong
Jacqui Worden
Mary Ellen Wuellner
Kristin Yager
Frank Zimmerman
