campaign to save
tROUT HOLLOW HILL PRAIRIE
GOOD NEWS! (Updated 9/4/2024)
Thanks to 830+ people from 45 States and 4 countries, the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie has been saved!
The Trout Hollow Hill Prairie is located in Monroe County, Illinois, and is home to many types of wildlife, including badgers, bees, and bobcats. Migratory birds use the prairie and forested bluff lands as a resting spot during their journeys. Prairie plants like hairy mountain mint and big bluestem are found here, too.
From the prairie you can see sweeping views of the rich farmland of the Mississippi River Valley and the stunning bluffs and forests around it.
Once HeartLands Conservancy takes ownership of the property in early September 2024, we’ll begin restoration work and have opportunities to volunteer, too.
Once we raise the funds, we’ll also provide a modest parking area and trails, so that everyone will be able to come see the prairie.
Community support was instrumental in making this project possible. Thank you to all the Prairie Protectors who made this project possible.
Stay tuned for more updates and information about the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie project. Read the News Release here.
If you’d like to help save more special places, like the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie, your support will make a big difference. You can donate here to help.
Wildlife depends on protected prairies.
Less than 1% of Illinois’ prairies are left in our beautiful prairie state – and only 600 acres of hill prairies (i.e., prairies on bluffs like this one) remain. That’s smaller than New York’s Central Park.
In the meantime, our pollinator populations are crashing, wildlife that depend on prairies and bluffs are declining, and extreme weather is causing additional stress on wildlife and humans.
Losing even one more acre of prairie is devastating.
This 15-acre property (now called the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie) was offered for sale by a family who gave us some time to raise funds. An anonymous donor matched donations 1:1 to save the prairie, up to half the purchase price, and the Wild Ones West Cook Chapter also matched donations up to $500.
Now that the prairie is protected, it will need love and attention. But it can be done, and every prairie we protect and restore is a huge step forward. Over the next several years, as funds are raised, the prairie will be restored so that it will be a haven for people and wildlife.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for conservation to connect people to prairies, close to home, in a way that everyone can enjoy. For People. For Pollinators. For Wildlife. For Good.
How Funds Will Be Used & Future Plans
Funds raised for the hill prairie went toward the fee-simple acquisition of the property, including the purchase price ($150,000), closing costs, legal and title expenses, implementation costs, and the necessary staff time associated with preserving the property (e.g., coordination, communication, site assessment, etc.). Any funds raised over the project goal amount of $175,000 will be used for future restoration, management, stewardship, access, and implementation costs associated with the project.
HeartLands Conservancy currently intends to own and protect the property forever (name to be determined). In the future, it may make sense to transfer ownership or stewardship of the property to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) or another conservation land trust in the area. Our immediate goal, however, is to protect the land. We also plan to work on providing public access to the prairie and beautiful view from atop the bluffs in the future.
If you have questions, please contact Mary Vandevord at mary.vandevord@heartlandsconservancy.org or Mallory Ketcherside at mallory.ketcherside@heartlandsconservancy.org (618) 566-4451 ex 10.
HeartLands Conservancy is a 501(c) nonprofit conservation land trust serving southern Illinois. Tax id: 37-1273869. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Map of the property in Monroe County, Illinois. The subject parcel is outlined in yellow. The hill prairie area is outlined in a green solid line. The historic limestone glade area is outlined with a dashed lined. Courtesy of Debbie Newman. The property is located at Trout Hollow Road between Bluff Road and D Road, about 1 mile north of Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve in Valmeyer and about 2 miles south of the Eagle Cliff Prairie (Miles Cemetery) Nature Preserve near Waterloo.
CONSERVATION NEEDS YOU
The care and protection of more than 10,000 acres of land in southern Illinois doesn’t happen by accident. People who care about farming, wildlife habitat, cultural heritage, community well-being , and scenic beauty are taking action to make conservation a reality. Join us and a growing network of people and places committed to conserving and improving southern Illinois.