Seven Wetlands to Visit in the Region to Celebrate American Wetlands Month

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May is American Wetlands Month, a time to recognize and celebrate how vital wetlands are to our region. Wetlands are among the most valuable, but least understood of all natural resources. They provide habitat for many species, especially migrating birds that use them to rest, raise their young, and feed. Much of the wetlands in our region have been destroyed, but there is a growing effort to restore and preserve these ecosystems, both for the plants and animals that inhabit them and our future climate resilience.

Wetlands benefit people by replenishing and cleaning water supplies, and reducing flood risks. They provide recreational opportunities and are beautiful habitats to witness and enjoy. Looking to experience some of our region’s wetlands, but don’t know where to start? We have seven recommendations of natural areas with protected or restored wetlands that offer opportunities to enjoy and learn about their importance.

Before you go out – remember to wear a mask, practice social distancing, take only pictures (and tag us by using #DiscoverYourPlace), and leave nothing but footprints at any wetland you visit. Search more locations to get outside with Openlands Get Outside Map.

1. Deer Grove East Forest Preserve (Cook County)

Openlands partnered with the Forest Preserve of Cook County to restore Deer Grove East as part of a multi-year O’Hare Modernization Mitigation Account project. The result is now home to expansive prairie, vibrant wetlands, and towering oak woodlands, sitting just an hour outside of downtown Chicago. The eastern most portion of Deer Grove Forest Preserve was first parcel of land that the Forest Preserves of Cook County purchased in 1916 and we are proud to have led its restoration.

2. Lockport Prairie (Will County)

Sitting on the banks of the Des Plaines River, Lockport Prairie is home to wetlands, and a globally rare ecosystem: the Dolomite Prairie. The natural area is habitat for numerous endangered species like the leafy prairie clover and Hine’s emerald dragonfly.

3. Dolton Prairie (Cook County)

Dolton Prairie, also known as Dolton Avenue Prairie, is a remnant wet prairie just south of the border of Chicago in Calumet City. The prairie is an excellent example of a high quality natural area and a very rare example of pre-settlement wet prairie landscape, once common in the Calumet region. The regional Cal-Sag Trail is accessible immediately north of Dolton Prairie and offers great birding in the area.

4. Volo Bog (Lake County)

Volo Bog is special for many reasons, one being its quaking bog. Over 10,000 years ago, during the end of the last Ice Age, a chuck of retreating glacial ice lodged itself deep in the ground at what is now Volo Bog. Several thousand years later the remnant lake began to fill with salt and vegetation, creating the wetlands present today. Volo Bog is technically known as a quaking bog because vegetation floats atop the open water. Over time, the absence of waves will allow the plant life to slowly expand further onto the water, eventually covering the entire site. Remember to check their website to see if the boardwalk is yet open, as repairs are ongoing.

5. Somme Woods (Cook County)

From east to west, the Somme Woods and Preserves in Northbrook progress from shaded woodland to sun-dappled savanna and finally to wide-open prairie. But several decades ago, this natural distribution of ecosystems wasn’t so easy to discern, having become shrouded by dense thickets of invasive buckthorn. Pioneering habitat restoration efforts led by volunteers started here in the 1970s and continue today.

6. Rollins Savanna (Lake County)

One of Lake County’s largest forest preserves, Rollins Savanna offers a 5.5-mile gravel trail with bridges and boardwalks that wind through wetlands, groves of large oaks, and open prairies teeming with wildflowers and native grasses. The bird observation area consists of a stone path that provides access from the existing preserve trail system to a raised platform. This observation deck is a gathering space that offers a clear view of the grassland and wetland.

7. Indiana Dunes State Park (Porter, Indiana)

Indiana Dunes State Park features a wide variety of habitats, including beach, sand dunes, black oak forest, wooded wetlands, and a button-bush marsh. Together, these areas contain some of the most diverse flora and fauna in the Midwest. The Indiana Dunes area also is renowned throughout the Midwest for its birding.

You can search more regional wetlands to discover at Openlands Get Outside Map, as well as other ecosystems and amenities that are safe and enjoyable for you. Again, please remember to wear a mask, practice social distancing, take only pictures (and tag us by using #DiscoverYourPlace), and leave nothing but footprints at any wetland you visit.

Stay tuned to our blog next week for important information on our work in wetlands advocacy and rollbacks to Clean Water Act.

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