Fall 2003

Centuries-old oaks and lovingly restored wetlands, prairie, and savanna

Lake County, Illinois

A visit to Flint Creek Savanna begins at a cul-de-sac in a subdivision of homes with impeccably manicured lawns. But step from the blacktop onto the mowed trail, and the suburban bluegrass monoculture vanishes both from sight and thought, washed away by a landscape of astonishing variety.

While the massive trees now cast their autumn magic with bronzed and crimson crowns, the prairie just south of the path bares its kaleidoscope of native grasses and flowers to the open sun. The towering stalks of prairie dock and compass plant compete with the tall grasses, while the vivid blue of gentians and asters closer to the ground reflects the sky above.

The mesic, or medium-moist, prairie grades into a wetland complex that is remarkable for its abundance of native sedges, rushes, and wetland flowering plants. While the crimson blossoms of cardinal flower and the brilliant blue of tall lobelia reach their peak in late August, some can remain into September, along with ironweed and Joe Pye weed. The water has now subsided from its spring levels, when it attracted migrating diving ducks such as redhead, scaup, and bufflehead. The shallow fall conditions attract dunlin, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, and other shorebirds making their way south. Marsh wrens, killdeer, spotted sandpipers, and a pair of sandhill cranes nest here each summer.

The path continues westward, then splits north and south, offering a loop tour. All told, the paths at Flint Creek Savanna total perhaps only a mile. But they meander up and down a gently rolling topography, along the creek and across it, in and out of prairie and several other, younger oak groves, and around several shallow wetlands. While the changing landscape and topography create the illusion of having traveled a fair distance into nature, visitors won't lose their way — the major oak grove provides a constant visual landmark.

Amid the rich, dynamic variety of plants and ecotypes, visitors may have to stretch their imaginations to conceive that a mere 15 years ago this site was abandoned farmland dominated by invasive species. But a clear vision of the site's restoration potential, along with the unstinting labor of volunteers, has transformed the site into a vibrant complex of habitats.

Tom Vanderpoel, a local restoration specialist who has planned and managed the project, explains: "Here was a place that offered the opportunity to prove that you could take a raw piece of land with very limited conservation value and rebuild the wetlands, prairie, and savanna that undoubtedly characterized the site many years ago. It had important natural features — the grove of big oaks, the creek, a topography of swells and swales — but the native plants and animals were pretty much gone. Here we had a chance to restore a variety of natural habitat types, bring back species that had disappeared, and improve an important wildlife corridor at the same time."

From all indications, the ambitious project is succeeding. This past summer, CFC celebrated the 15th anniversary of Flint Creek Savanna, underlining the site's importance as a community-based conservation project. CFC volunteers contribute roughly 400 hours per year at the preserve, harvesting and sowing seed from native plants, installing natives rescued from construction sites, weeding sweet clover and cattails, planting wetland sedges, and cutting invasive brush. Teachers from the local high school bring their classes to help; last spring they planted more than 1,000 penn sedges in one of the oak groves. Elementary school students, Scout groups, and nature study classes regularly visit the preserve for on-site lessons.

"The next 20 years will bring a real evaluation," Vanderpoel says, contemplating the challenges ahead. "But if we can restore these native ecotypes here at Flint Creek Savanna, that will bring hope for restoration locally and anywhere in the world." To volunteer, call (847) 382-SAVE.

—Wendy Paulson