One of the rarest prairies in Illinois has been saved today.
Named the Prairie State, Illinois has lost almost all of its prairies, with less than one percent remaining. Once widespread throughout Illinois, most of the state’s prairies have been transformed into farmland or residential development.
Only 600 acres of “hill prairies” are known to remain in the entire state. A partnership between Heartlands Conservancy, a local landowner, and hundreds of donors just saved a hill prairie in Monroe County.
“We recently acquired this property and wanted to protect its natural beauty. Instead of building a home, we dreamed of creating a park with trails for our family. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to fully realize this vision. We’re grateful that Heartlands is stepping in to preserve the bluff’s landscape,” explained Nathan Vineyard, who agreed to sell the land to HeartLands Conservancy rather than put it on the market for development.
The Conservancy relied on local supporters and community members on social media to share the news that this unique prairie parcel was at risk and to ask if their friends and neighbors would help. As a result, 800+ people from all over the world—43 states and four other countries—contributed to save the prairie.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to save this prairie,” explained Mary Vandevord, CEO of HeartLands Conservancy. “We don’t have funds on hand to conserve critical lands like this, so the community’s support was instrumental in making this project possible. We can’t thank people enough for realizing how special this prairie is.”
The hill prairie in Monroe County offers sweeping views of surrounding farmland and the Mississippi River and is an important haven for birds like warblers and vireos during spring and fall migrations. Other wildlife, like badgers, box turtles, and Monarch butterflies, depend on prairies. Prairies, however, need regular management to remain a prairie rather than being taken over by cedar trees and other invasive plants.
The Conservancy will be raising funds to restore the prairie habitat and install a trail, related benches, and parking area. “There is very little public land in Monroe County, and our conservation organization believes that people from all walks of life need accessible, welcoming, and enjoyable places to connect with nature,” explained Janet Haroian, board chair of HeartLands Conservancy.
“We work with willing landowners to conserve southern Illinois’ special places. Sometimes, families conserve farmland that will remain in private ownership. Other times, we conserve wildlife habitats and establish trails, such as in this prairie project. We also work with villages and communities, like Edwardsville, Belleville, and Swansea, to ensure that local parks and access to nature are also a priority,” explained Vandevord.
The 15-acre bluff-top prairie, known as Trout Hollow Hill Prairie, now joins 17 other publicly accessible lands in six counties in southern Illinois protected by or owned and managed by HeartLands Conservancy. “Many of these areas have less than 3% of the land available for walking, wildlife viewing, and connecting to nature. We are seeing landowners interested in partnering with us to change that because they know how important their legacy is to their community.”
For more information about the effort to save the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie, visit the HeartLands Conservancy’s website at https://heartlandsconservancy.org/support/save-the-prairie/ or contact Mary Vandevord at 618-566-4451 Ex. 20 or ma************@*******************cy.org.
HeartLands Conservancy is a nonprofit conservation land trust based in Belleville, Illinois, that works to conserve open spaces, farms, and natural lands and enhance the community’s connections to nature in southern Illinois. Efforts are focused on conserving land, healthy communities, and clean water. For more information about HeartLands Conservancy, visit: HeartLandsConservancy.org