Upcoming: Plants of Concern Workshops

Plants of Concern is hosting three workshops in April.  These workshops provide an opportunity to learn or refresh monitoring skills.  Click on the image above for location and registration information. 

January / February FNA Newsletter available

The latest news from Fermilab Natural Areas highlights the receipt of a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation, a tool donation from Corona Tools, and an Eagle Scout project to repair footbridges in the Big Woods.


Thanks to all of you for your support in 2011 and we look forward to many good things in 2012! As always, a high-resolution of the newsletter is available online.

Visiting the Great Western Prairie

from Ryan Campbell:  

The Fermilab ecological restoration seasonal workers and summer employees recently visited another prairie remnant within the Chicagoland area. We met with the site steward, Keith Olson (who also happens to be a Fermilab Prairie Harvest volunteer since the late 1970's) of the Elmhurst Great Western Prairie. Keith explained the formation, preservation, history, and community involvement of the small, 8 block strip of remnant next to an abandoned railroad line. We saw many excellent native prairie plants like Sullivant's milkweed, compass plant, blue-eyed grass, flowering spurge, lead plant, and prairie blazing star. The city of Elmhurst is supportive of this attractive, downtown prairie which makes quite the artistic accent to the Illinois Prairie Path. It was a great chance to visit a dedicated Fermi volunteer and see another example of what prairie is and how it is managed.

Calling on a Neighbor

from Mike Beck & the summer crew:  

On July 9 2010, the new weed control workers consisting of Kevin Sheehan and Mike Beck along with the prairie crew, Julie Allen & Jessica Meyers, took an off-site excursion to Schulenberg Prairie within the Morton Arboretum.

Upon arrival we were in awe at the unique and vast prairie that is so different then Fermilab’s. As we transversed the Schulenberg Prairie, we particularly noticed the diversity of the prairie. Plants that are rare to Fermilab’s prairie are common in the Schulenberg Prairie, including Cream Wild Indigo (Baptisia leucophaea) and Prairie Dropseed (Sorobolus heterolepis). Also, it was interesting to see how different species dominate different prairies.  For example, Fermilab has large amounts of Compass Plant and Prairie Dock, whereas the Schulenberg Prairie is dominated by Prairie Clover.

Overall, the trip to the Schulenberg Prairie at the Morton Arboretum was very beneficial to understanding and appreciation of the diversity of prairies found throughout Illinois, all the while showing us the impact that a restoration can have to the landscape.

Field Trip: Indian Boundary Prairies

from our summer restoration folk:

On Friday, June 25th, five of us, Ryan Campbell, Julie Allen, Jessica Meyers, Kevin Sheehan and Mike Beck, went to visit remnant prairies in Markham, Illinois.  Referred to as the Indian Boundary Prairies or Gensberg-Markham, the lands are owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy, Northeastern Illinois University and the Natural Land Institute. Two of the stewards shared some history as well as their current management efforts. This was an excellent opportunity for us to see what a restored remnant prairie looks like, and to compare and contrast it to our prairies at Fermilab.

With their permission, we collected Wild Onion, Prairie Panic Grass, and some different carex species. We were all surprised by the extremely high level of plant diversity, which caused average plant height to be much shorter than we see at Fermilab. The most exciting point of the day was when we came across a federally endangered White Fringed Orchid (pictured above), just finishing its bloom. The manager and naturalist of the site Ron Panzer was not surprised: “We got tons of them,” he said.  In addition, the site is known for its insect diversity, such as the Aphrodite butterfly. The prairie is open to the public and well worth the visit.  More information is available online.

photo courtesy:  Julie Allen