Summer 1998

Grasslands and prairie animals thrive in moderately disturbed land

Cook County, Illinois

As an assemblage of large and high-quality Illinois grasslands, the Indian Boundary Prairies have no equal. They're a place to see great hordes of butterflies, to hear prairie birds sing on the air, a place to see more than 200 species of rare plants. Gray fox, Franklin's ground squirrel, Henslow's sparrow, prairie lily — you name it, it's there.

The place to start is the Gensburg tract. The narrow footpath heading east from the gate guides you past some of the finest Grade A prairie anywhere. As the trail turns north and then back west along a drainage ditch marking the preserve's northern edge, you pass through a variety of moderately disturbed habitats. They're slowly being nursed back to life by preserve manager Ron Panzer and a spirited army of volunteer stewards. Come back year after year; it's always different and always better.

In the 1930s, streets were laid out here. You'll notice parallel ditches marking their edges. But the financial crash stopped the planned development, and the land lay in limbo for decades until "Mr. Prairie" — Dr. Robert Betz — enlisted The Nature Conservancy to assemble enough tax delinquent parcels to make a preserve. Conservationists have gradually assembled a preserve which now tops 200 acres and continues to grow.

Visitors will appreciate the richness of purple and white prairie clovers at the entrance gate. Amazingly, none were there when the restoration started. Betz and the volunteers brought the seed in from surviving populations nearby, as they did with the fringed gentians, smooth phlox, and others that now sway in the breeze by the thousands. "The easiest prairie to restore is one that's pretty good to start with," says Panzer. "And this one's a fine example."

Panzer himself restored the Franklin's ground squirrel. Since the site is an Illinois Nature Preserve, he needed the blessing of the Nature Preserves Commission, which had not approved this sort of thing before, but found Panzer's proposal sound. The stocky chocolate brown rodents are rarely seen, as they spend their time in tunnels under the grass and in their burrows, but their high clear whistle gives away their presence.

The smallest of the Indian Boundary Prairies, Dropseed Prairie, has the blackest soil (all these sites have some degree of sandiness, as old Glacial Lake Chicago sand bars are evident throughout). It has a number of species, like the rare edible valerian, that can't be found in the larger sites.

Fall is a great time to see the rare gentians and gerardias at Paintbrush Prairie, an unusual neighborhood institution. Completely surrounded by subdivisions, it draws neighborhood children, some of whom seem to know the whereabouts of every snake and toad. Neighbor Cal Barber, who grew up playing in the grass and flowers, was the spark plug who championed the preservation of Paintbrush, Dropseed, and Sundrop. The kids there now may be the ones who make the citizen scientist discoveries here in the years ahead.

The most remote-feeling of the Indian Boundaries is Sundrop, south of Paintbrush on the east side of Kedzie. Like all these sites, it is another failed subdivision, a little more beat-up than the others, but a truly great place to watch the progress of restoration. Notice the humble but industrial-strength fence along the street — materials scrounged by volunteer stewards. This fence ended the parade of dumping vehicles that sneaked in from time to time for years. Volunteers lugged dozens of truckloads of trash out of the site, and now the birds, butterflies, blooms, and grasses are increasing annually.

The prairies are open during daylight hours. Please stay on existing footpaths.