Grand Prairie Friends Acquires New Charleston Property- Warbler Bend

Local non-profit Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) is thrilled to announce the purchase of Warbler Bend, a meandering 110 acres along the Embarras River in Coles County (IL). This purchase expands the Conservation Land Trust’s existing Warbler Ridge Conservation Area, now totaling almost 1,400 acres. Warbler Bend is GPF’s second property north of Highway 130, joining Warbler Bluff, located on Harrison St. Rd (Charleston).

Over the last decade, GPF has restored more than 1,200 acres at their Warbler Ridge Conservation Area including the addition of 90,000 trees, nine acres of wetlands and hundreds of acres of pollinator fields.

Connected to Lake Charleston to the north, and Fox Ridge State Park to the south, Warbler Ridge Conservation Area began in 2015, to connect these three landscapes to create an over 4,000 acre contiguous corridor for wildlife, natural habitats and public natural space for the community. Executive Director, Sarah Livesay explains, “Connecting habitat corridors are key for plant and animal movement, reproduction and finding resources they need to thrive; no one lives well on an island”.

This project adds another stretch of the Embarras River to the existing 14 river-miles under GPF’s protection across Champaign, Douglas and Coles Counites.

“Protection of the Embarras River corridor benefits all of us. Our stewardship efforts provide habitat, flood and erosion control, water filtration, and recreation. This work serves every living plant, animal, and human in this community”, says Livesay.

Through a partnership with TerraForm Power, GPF received funding to acquire, manage, restore and develop this habitat as part of TerraForm’s Environmental, Social & Governance program which protects biodiversity and improves habitat for threatened and endangered species in Illinois. “This project was fueled by the discovery of endangered maternity colonies of four bats on the site, creating an amazing opportunity for our community to be in the spotlight for conservation and research on a national scale, and move the needle on these critically vulnerable species”.

Scott Rotman, Director of Environmental Affairs and Compliance at TerraForm Power said “TerraForm Power is delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Grand Prairie Friends to preserve an additional 110 acres of optimal bat (and other species) habitat in Illinois. By protecting this land along the Embarras River into the future, we are working toward establishing a corridor of preserved habitat for species in peril. By bringing our total preserved lands in this corridor to more than 212 acres, TerraForm Power is committing to contributing to species survival. We wish to express our gratitude to and admiration for Grand Prairie Friends for working closely with us to effectuate this purchase and for committing to manage the land to perpetuate its standing as top quality habitat. 

Grand Prairie Friends’ Executive Director, Sarah Livesay adds “Over the last five years, TerraForm Power and Grand Prairie Friends have engaged in multiple transformative partnerships which have resulted in the acquisition and restoration of more than 200 acres of river, forest and prairies. The return on investment is evident each warm July evening, as we now watch more than 700 endangered bats emerge from their roosts”.

Grand Prairie Friends looks forward to hosting visitors at Warbler Bend in the future once our conservation projects are underway.

The Nationally Accredited Grand Prairie Friends, preserves and restores natural communities across six Counties in east-central Illinois and promotes an understanding and appreciation of natural resources. Warbler Ridge is open to the public and provides 11-miles of walking trails. Learn more at www.GRANDPRAIRIEFRIENDS.org.