Illinois Nature Preserves

Dogwood tree located in Heron Pond Nature Preserve.

The Illinois Nature Preserves system is recognized as one of the leading national examples of a system for the preservation of our natural heritage.

Through the Nature Preserves Act, enacted by the Legislature in 1962, Illinois now has 38 outstanding areas that are formally dedicated to maintenance in their natural state for a variety of unique values.

These areas range from the Heron Pond cypress swampland to the Lake Michigan Dunes area at Illinois Beach State Park. Lusk Creek Canyon is a deep gorge eroded through sandstone by Lusk Creek. Volo Bog in Lake county includes a tamarack bog, floating bog mat, shrub community, marsh, sedges, and an open water area. The Illinois prairie has been preserved at Goose Lake Prairie in Grundy County.

The law allows for the formal dedication of natural lands to this system by public agencies, private organizations, and private individuals, and provides stringent legal safeguards against future changes in land use or taking of the area for other public uses.

Our nature preserves system is part of a national movement to preserve natural areas in order to assure present and future generations of an adequate supply of undisturbed natural land for the purposes of scientific research, education, and aesthetic purposes.

A booklet describing the nature preserve system has been recently completed by the Illinois Department of Conservation, and is available from the Division of Education, Department of Conservation, State Office Building, Springfield, Illinois 62704.

Heron nest in Volo Bog Nature Preserve.

This hollow tree continues to serve its purpose in nature's chain of life—Lusk Creek Canyon

Illinois Parks and Recreation 21 July/August, 1973