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Getting back to nature Discover the beauty of Illinois' natural areas. By Cinda Klickna Even though 99.9 percent of Illinois' original landscape has been plowed, cleared, drained and/or bulldozed, many beautiful tracts remain in every corner of the State. This may come as a surprise to the many Illinoisans who consider Illinois nothing more than a series of flat, boring cornfields. In fact, there are more than 70 State parks, more than 30 conservation areas and more than 80 nature preserves in Illinois. Many of these areas are jointly owned and operated by the State Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. Preservation groups, such as Nature Conservancy and the Natural Land Institute, work with DOC and the commission to acquire and preserve natural areas in Illinois.
The Illinois Natural Areas Inventory identified better than 1,000 virgin tracts in 1978. Since then, the Department of Conservation, the Nature Preserves Commission and preservation groups have been busy saving these areas and working with landowners who wish to dedicate their property. So no matter where you go in the State, there is a retreat awaiting you. Even in the Chicago area, only a few miles from the Loop, a natural prairie that somehow has escaped development blooms with rare orchids. Here are some suggestions for visits: Southern Illinois Edgar Lee Masters once called southern Illinois "peaceful and primitive, like an etching study," and his description holds true today. • Heron Pond-Little Black Slough Nature Preserve resembles a piece of a Georgia swampland transplanted to the Midwest. Take a walk through a secluded wood, dense with foilage and adorned with blooming purple phlox in the spring. Cypress and tupelo trees tower over a duckweed-covered swamp. The echoing of birds, such as blue heron and woodpeckers, and the stillness of the water can be better enjoyed by following the floating boardwalk into the midst of the swamp. Eleven miles of trails wind through the area, offering a view of unusual habitats and rare plant and animal species. (Owned by the Department of Conservation, 4 miles southwest of Vienna. Site Superintendent, Ferne Clyffe State Park, Goreville 62939.) • Ferne Clyffe State Park, once the hunting grounds of the Cherokees, was last used by the Indians in 1838-39. When it was acquired by Emma Rebman, a student of Indian history, she named areas of the park in their honor. Now visitors can hike Apache Trail, look out over Ceronimo Gorge and revive themselves at the eight natural springs — Mohawk, Pocahontas, Tecumseh, Powhatan, Hiawatha, Black Hawk, Cherokee and Pontiac. Five trails spread out in all directions from a central valley. Shady dells, Illinois Parks and Recreation 21 May/June 1986 arched-roof caves, stone cliffs, sparkling rills and running brooks provide homes for squirrels and song birds, ferns and lichens. Blue, pink and yellow wildflowers cascade down cliffs and spread across trails; an occasional snake darts across the path. The park includes picnic, camping and fishing facilities as well as horse trails. (Owned by DOC, one mile south-west of Goreville on Illinois 37, 12 miles south of Marion. Address listed above.) • Dixon Springs State Park, once a neutral meeting ground for Indians from the area, became a 19th-century health spa because of its mineral springs. Now a 496-acre park, named for the first white man in the area, it offers picnic, camping and hiking facilities. The first 4-H Club camp in the United States was held here, and the natural beauty makes it easy to see why. After a light rain, rivulets of water cascade down fern - and moss-covered cliffs, forming waterfalls. Dogwoods bloom profusely on the hilly countryside in the spring, and in the fall, scarlet, yellow and gold leaves form a picturesque sight. (Owned by DOC, 10 miles west of Golconda on Illinois 146, near the Illinois 145 junction. Site Superintendent, Dixon Springs State Park, R.R. 1, Brownfield 62911.) • Lusk Creek Canyon Nature Preserve is probably the most difficult spot to find, but will leave the visitor spellbound and speechless. A 45-minute walk along a dirt trail, sometimes muddy after a hard rain, past a pond covered with water lilies and pools teeming with tadpoles, brings one to a huge canyon. A sheer rock cliff, flowing with fresh spring water, drops into the deep blue gorge below it. Salamanders amble across fallen logs, violets bloom in the twisted roots of old trees and flowering dogwoods form an arch across the path. This Illinois Parks and Recreation 22 May/June 1986 natural area is truly a shock to the Illinoisan who has seen only flat farmlands. (Owned by DOC, 4 miles northeast of Eddyville. Site Superintendent, Saline County Conservation Area, Equality 62934.) • Bell Smith Springs lies deep in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest. Sheer cliffs, winding canyons, hidden caves and a natural stone bridge with a 125-foot span make this an ideal spot tor hikers. Trails merge into shallow trickling streams that follow rock cliffs or end at boulders that look out over deep canyons. (Owned by U.S. Forest Service, northwest of Eddyville, Shawnee National Forest.) Northern Illinois • Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, 829 acres of some of the rarest of Illinois land, offers sand dunes, sand prairies, ponds, trails adorned with wild orchids, yellow painted-cups and spreads of scrub black oak. More than 500 species of plants have been recorded in this undeveloped tract along Lake Michigan, which is within sight of the Chicago skyline. Flocks of geese and ducks often are spotted in the spring. (Owned by DOC, Illinois 173, Sheridan Road, only a few miles from the Wisconsin border. Site Superintendent, Illinois Beach State Park, Zion 60099.) • Volo Bog is the only surviving open-water bog in Illinois and the only place in Illinois where the wild calla grows. Twelve thousand years ago, a melting glacier left a steep-sided hole. The hole slowly filled with sphagnum moss around the water's edge; tamarack, white pine and trembling aspen flourish in this habitat. Unusual plants include the marsh cinquefoil, the star-flower and a variety of orchids. (Owned by DOC, 2 miles northwest of Volo, west of U.S. 12 between Sullivan Lake Road and Brandenberg Road. Site Superintendent, Volo Bog Nature Preserve, Ingleside 60041.)
Illinois Parks and Recreation 23 May/June 1986 • Goose Lake Prairie, a 2,537-acre preserve in Grundy County, is the largest tract of prairie in Illinois. Prairie grasses such as Canada wild rye and prairie flowers, including black sampson and blazing star, add color. Even original prairie animals such as coyotes, foxes, deer and bob-o-link prosper. Even though the land was acquired from Commonwealth Edison and its powerlines, as well as the Dresden Nuclear Station, loom over the prairie, it is worth the trip to see what Illinois once looked like. (Owned by DOC, Lorenzo Road, Morris. Site Superintendent, 5010 N. Jugtown Road, Morris 60450.) Southeastern Illinois • Beall Woods — no words can accurately describe the beauty of this unusual spot in Illinois. The largest Shumard oaks in the United States thrive here, and more than 300 have trunks measuring 30 inches. Tree climbing is impossible, since the first branch rises 90 feet above the ground — binoculars are needed just to see the leaves. Trails take hikers to cliffs overlooking clear brooks which reflect the tree-tops. Sunlight shimmers through the leaves, producing varied colors of green and yellow. High in the trees, squirrels chatter and birds chirp, unimpeded by the hikers so far below. (Owned by DOC, 5 miles south of Mount Carmel, off Illinois 1 near Keensburg. Site Superintendent, Beall Woods Nature Preserve, Mount Carmel 62863.) Southwestern Illinois • At its uppermost peak, Fults Hill Nature Preserve looks out over Illinois farmlands. Amidst the 532 acres of hill prairie live red cedars, orange coneflowers, heliotrope and wild prairie grasses. Butterflies calmly alight on dainty flowers; black-eyed susans pop their heads over the tall grasses. (Owned by DOC, 1 mile east of Fults, 25 miles out of Belleville. Site Superintendent, Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher 62277.) Central Illinois • Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Nature Preserve offers a quick trip to the desert; visitors will feel they are in the middle of Arizona instead of the flat-lands of Illinois. Sand dunes bloom with cactus; in June, the cactus flowers appear in beautiful colors of pink and yellow. (Owned by DOC, 9 miles south of Havana between Bath and Kilbourne. Site Superintendent, Sand Ridge State Forest, Forest City 61532.) • Revis Nature Preserve is part of one of the largest hill prairies in Illinois and is visited extensively by University of Illinois ecology classes. (Owned by DOC, 2 miles northwest of confluence of Salt Creek and the Sangamon River. Site Manager, New Salem Historic Site, New Salem 62659.) • Carpenter Park Nature Preserve recently received publicity when a nearby 250-year-old tree was found, felled by unknown hands. The park offers trails through wooded areas, thick with black, white and red oak trees. In the spring, wildflowers provide a carpet of multi-colors along the trails and birds, such as the pileated woodpecker and the brown creeper, call to the hikers. (Owned by Springfield Park District, P.O. Box 5052, Springfield 62705.) These are only a sampling of some of the beautiful natural areas that exist in Illinois. The native Illinoisan need not travel to Colorado to discover beauty. For a complete list of State parks, contact the Department of Conservation for a copy of its "Recreational Areas Guide," (217) 782-7454. Contact the Nature Preserve Commission, (217) 785-8774, for a listing of Illinois nature preserves. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cinda Klickna is an English teacher in Springfield, IL. She is also a co-director of a gifted program, the Abraham Lincoln Institute, and the owner of Ivy Lane Antiques, Rochester, IL. Illinois Parks and Recreation 24 May/June 1986 |
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