Openlands - Wetland Restoration

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Wetland Restoration

Restoring a "biological treasure"

Orland Park resident and Cook County Forest Preserve site steward Pat Hayes is smitten with Openlands' ecological restoration work at McMahon Woods in Willow Springs, IL. She recounts "how beautiful the fall mist is on the ponds" as she recently came upon the site.

As a volunteer-expert who cares for the forest preserve's natural areas, she has reason to understand the significance of Openlands' work there. In a note to Linda Masters, Openlands ecologist, she shared that when Native Americans occupied this region, people could easily walk through the woods. The trees were widely spaced, the understory open, and the ground lush with wildflowers and grasses.

And if you dig a bit deeper, you'll find something very fragile and unique at McMahon Woods.

Dellwood Park West

At 196 acres, Dellwood Park West (DPW) is a site of extremes and marked differences. The southern portion of DPW property was once actively mined and used for the disposal of slag, a byproduct of the steel production at a steel mill that was once located adjacent to DPW.

Des Plaines River Conservation Area

The presence of recognized dolomite prairies of substantial size and quality at this location made it a choice for receiving Material Service Corporation Settlement Fund (MSCSF) funding. Both Grant Creek Prairie (seventy-eight acres on the east side of I-55) and the Des Plaines Dolomite Prairie (nine acres on the west side of I-55) were on the original Illinois Natural Areas Inventory conducted in 1977.

Lake Renwick East

Lake Renwick East is a part of the larger Forest Preserve District of Will County's (FPDWC) land holding that includes the Lake Renwick Heron Rookery and Turtle Lake access area. Prior to the approval of the Material Service Corporation Settlement Fund (MSCSF) grant the majority of the Lake Renwick East site was in row crop agriculture.

Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve

Lockport Prairie was already a well-managed site of high ecological quality, so much of the intensive restoration work initiated at other MSCSF sites was unnecessary here. However, strategic planting of native plugs was done on approximately twelve acres in the north half of Lockport Prairie's north unit (the section north of Division Street.) This area had been cleared by the Forest Preserve District of Will County, but natives were slow to come back. So seeds were taken from plants at Lockport Prairie to ensure genetic integrity and sameness, and to satisfy the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.

Long Run Seep Nature Preserve

Long Run Seep is a high-quality fen—a term often used interchangeably with "seep"—that is situated on the east terrace of the Des Plaines River. Three species on the Illinois list of endangered or threatened species occur here, and the site is considered a likely candidate to be a breeding site for Hine's emerald dragonfly (HED), a federally-listed species. Indian plantain, marsh blazing stars, marsh skullcaps and many other plants indicative of high quality wetlands thrive in the fen.

Mola Tract

The farmland at the Mola Tract was added to the already substantial acreage of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in 2000, when it was bought from a private owner with assistance from Openlands Land Preservation staff and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation 2000 grant program.

Romeoville Prairie Nature Preserve

The sedge meadows at the north section of Romeoville Prairie were once spectacular, but serious incursions of dense stands of cattails have diminished populations of conservative wetland plants. This has not been a case of natural succession by any means; the problem is that extensive loads of silt are dumped into the prairie and wetlands from two seventy-two-inch culverts.

South Patrol Road

The sheer size of this restoration of former farm fields required more partners and more funding. The Wetlands Initiative took a lead role, and private foundations have provided the initial funding that covered the disabling of the site's drainage tile and ditches.

Theodore Marsh and Black Road Access South

Theodore Marsh and Black Road Access South are a part of the Forest Preserve District of Will County's Rock Run Creek Preserve system. Though there are no dolomite prairies along Rock Run, the geology, topography and historic plant communities of the preserves along the creek are sufficiently similar to those of Lockport Prairie and Romeoville Prairie that these Rock Run preserves may be used as seed sources for restoration in those areas.

Wetland Seed Production Facility

The Wetland Seed Production Facility follows the successful model set up for upland prairie seed production at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and is adjacent to that site. As in a nursery, native wetland species are planted in single-species rows to facilitate their maintenance and harvesting. Initial plantings have been completed.

Rock Run Preserve-Black Road Access

The Black Road Access area is a part of the Forest Preserve District of Will County's (FPDWC) Rock Run Creek Preserve system. It did have a matrix of native plants in place, but it was being increasingly choked out and overrun by brush and other invasive species. Like Theodore Marsh, its location along Rock Run and its similarity in geologic character to sites along the Des Plaines River makes it a place that is important not only in its own right but as a potential seed source for restoration efforts at Lockport Prairie, Romeoville Prairie, and elsewhere.

Sag Valley Dolomite Prairie and Fen

Located near Cook County's only true canyon, Sagawau Canyon is the Sag Valley Dolomite Prairie and Fen. It's part of a large complex of natural areas, and is connected to the largest concentration of open space in Cook County, the Palos/Sag Valley Forest Preserves.

Long Run Seep Addition

East and upstream from the Long Run Seep Nature Preserve is the Long Run Seep Addition property which is owned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Before the restoration work enabled by the Material Service Corporation Settlement Fund was begun, the understory of the oak savannas along the ridges beside the stream were so badly choked with invasive species (mainly buckthorn and honeysuckle) that it was impossible to see Long Run Creek wind through the site.

Morgan Woods

Morgan Woods is one of the three land acquisitions that were ultimately partially funded by the Material Service Corporation Settlement Fund (MSCSF).

Orland Grassland

Orland Grassland is a large rectangle that is one-mile wide by 1.5 miles long. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County purchased the site in the 1970s and planted clusters of trees on the former agricultural fields. Before that, pre-settlement vegetation maps show the site and most of the surrounding area of Orland Township was entirely prairie.