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.

With the property in row crop agriculture for decades it is a start from scratch restoration, requiring the disabling of tiles, brush and tree removal, and the planting of both seeds and seedlings of native plants. It also has required aggressive follow-up control of invasive plants, particularly Canada thistle.  (Download full project description here:  Wetlands Restoration: Mola Tract (23.4 kB).)

Location: Directly across I-53 from the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie office (30239 S. State Route 53), Wilmington, IL

Funding source: Material Service Corporation Settlement Fund (MSCSF)

Owner & land manager: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Size of project site: 65 acres

Project date: 2000

Partners: Ducks Unlimited, Openlands (formerly CorLands), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Action: Restoring a more natural hydrology, planting of native seeds and plugs, controlling herbaceous invasive species, removing and chipping of trees and stumps.