North Branch Restoration Project

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, pioneering ecologists such as Floyd Swink, Bob Betz, and Ray Schulenberg inspired a growing interest in the ecology of the native prairies of Northeastern Illinois.

In 1977, a group of enthusiastic citizens volunteered to help rescue several small remnants of native prairie that still survived in the Forest Preserves of Cook County along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Working closely with the Forest Preserve District, these citizens removed the shade-producing brush that was killing the native prairie plants.m They collected native seeds and planted them in the areas where brush had been removed. And, most importantly, they helped bring back the fire that had shaped the Illinois landscape for one hundred centuries prior to European settlement.

The ecologists expanded their studies to the wooded landscapes and learned about the natural processes that shaped the Illinois woodlands and savannas. They found that the dense brush and thick understory were diminishing the diversity of many of our woodlands and that it needed to be removed. It became clear that fire was an important natural process for maintaining a healthy woodland ecosystem also.

The results have been spectacular. Areas under management are increasingly rich with a great diversity of rare animals and plants of the prairies and woodlands. In prairies, plants such as cream false indigo, purple prairie clover, rattlesnake master, and bottle gentian have reappeared and are thriving.

With the return of sunlight and fire, grasses, sedges and wildflowers once again carpet the woodland floor. The rare great spangled fritillary and the Appalachian brown butterflies flit through sun-dappled woods.

Animals such as the Coopers hawk and the Edward’s hairstreak butterfly are
back from the edge of local extinction. And the eastern bluebird has returned
to nest once again in our savannas.

Our purpose and work
Our primary purpose is to work with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and other agencies to protect and restore our Illinois natural heritage. We are advocates for these cherished lands, speaking for their preservation, and educating our fellow citizens about their value through tours and presentations.

Every weekend, in all kinds of weather, volunteers gather at scheduled sites to continue restoration work: brush cutting, weeding, burning, seed gathering and sowing. Citizen scientists collect important information about the plants and animals, monitoring changes in sites as restoration proceeds and adding to the knowledge of local ecosystems.

This is a new way to interact with nature – helping to restore health and vigor to damaged natural areas through stewardship. Today, many groups in the Chicago area and the rest of our country are involved in the restoration of native habitats. Among these groups, the North Branch Restoration Project has been called a model for volunteer stewardship and ecological restoration.

What you can do
The North Branch Restoration Project welcomes new volunteers and interested citizens. No experience is needed. Come to any workday — every Sunday and many Saturdays. It’s fun, it’s educational, and it’s good exercise! The volunteer stewards and crew leaders will provide the necessary tools and explain the work procedures.

In addition to the workdays, volunteers are needed for a wide variety of other activities:

- Study populations of birds, butterflies and other animals;
- Photograph workday activities and other events;
- Write articles and help publish newsletters, brochures and other educational materials;
- Be a “wild gardener” (plant rare native plant seedlings in your garden and then collect their seed to restore to managed areas);
- Help maintain the science library and herbarium;
- Promote public awareness of prairie, savanna, and woodland restoration.

Sites:
NORTHBROOK:
SOMME PRAIRIE NATURE PRESERVE, dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve in 1984, is gently rolling land on what once was the floodplain of the West Fork of the Chicago River's North Branch. Approximately¬ three acres of high quality prairie exemplifies the rich flora that once covered much of the state. Plants with names like cream false indigo, edible valerian, and tuberous Indian plantain color the landscape.

SOMME PRAIRIE GROVE contains prairie, savanna, and woodland. Flowers and grasses such as purple milkweed, cream gentian, bottlebrush grass, Joe Pye weed, and wood reed grass contribute to its high quality. Indian grass, rattlesnake master, wild quinine, and purple prairie clover have been restored to its open areas. Rare butterflies, snakes and coyotes once again populate its prairies and groves. Great horned owls and red-tailed hawks nest and hunt here.

An eastern extension of Somme Prairie Grove, SOMME WOODS supports white and red oak woodlands, open marshes, and a woodland ephemeral pond. Rich with native plants and animals, they are being restored to their original beauty. A resting bald eagle greeted a volunteer work crew here at a recent workday.

GLENBROOK NORTH HIGH SCHOOL NATURE PRESERVE is an original, 5-acre prairie that is of very high quality. It is located on the grounds of the high school and has been dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve.

NORTHFIELD:
Named for the joining of the Middle and East Forks of the North Branch of the Chicago River, WATERSMEET has a wide variety of communities, from a limey, wet woods with unusual species such as skunk cabbage, marsh marigold, dog violetand fen goldenrod to open prairie shrubland with mountain blue-eyed grass, golden sedge, and willow aster.

GLENVIEW: Characterized by high quality woodland, open savanna, wetlands, and floodplain, HARMS WOODS is crossed by numerous intermittent streams. Old, massive red and white oaks dominate the open-canopied woodland. Visitors should watch for the great horned owl and yellow-billed cuckoo that are known to nest here. Over 350 species of native plants have been identified thriving here so far.

Just to the east, HARMS FLATWOODS is dominated by huge old bur and swamp white oaks, with an understory of black ash, winterberry, hazelnut and other native trees and shrubs. The state-endangered dwarf raspberry is increasing with the restoration work, including the re-introduction of fire for the first time in 1996.

Sixty years of annual mowing as a security zone for the main runway of the Glenview Naval Air Station protected the AIR STATION PRAIRIE from invasive brush. The 32 acres of prairie and mitigated wetlands is owned by the Village and is permanently protected as an ecologically significant area. It supports more than 160 native plant species, grassland birds, many prairie dependent insects and 5 species of crayfish. Species lost to mowing are being reintroduced and old field ¬portions of the prairie are being actively managed.

MORTON GROVE:
One of the best prairie restorations is WAYSIDE WOODS PRAIRIE. A former baseball diamond is now covered with prairie flowers joining two small, high quality prairie remnants. An oak grove supports a population of small sundrops, threatened in Illinois.

LINNE WOODS boasts such spring wildflowers as windflower and toothwort¬ under a canopy of oaks and hickories with an understory of ironwood and black cherry.

LINNE WOODS RAILROAD PRAIRIE is an adjacent tiny but rich prairie remnant managed by agreement with the Milwaukee Road.

MORTON GROVE NATURE PRESERVE is the smallest site under North Branch stewardship. It is a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve owned by the Morton Grove Park District. Bordered by residential and commercial neighborhoods, you can walk around this virgin prairie tract in three and a half minutes.

The North Branch Bicycle Trail bisects MIAMI WOODS PRAIRIE and OAK OPENINGS. The central prairie includes gentians, leadplant and prairie dropseed grass along with 250 other species. The bluffs along the Chicago River support bur, white, and Hill's oak groves lush with fine spring flora such as bloodroot and trillium. Savanna and prairie species such as purple milkweed, New Jersey tea, and columbine are also found here. The Oak Openings are flowery open areas interspersed with woodlands of oak and hickory.

CHICAGO:
BUNKER HILL SAVANNA and SID YATES FLATWOODS occupy part of a 1600-acre tract given to Potawatomi Chief Sauganash (also called Billy Caldwell) by the U.S. government. Rare orchids, the state endangered mountain blue-eyed grass, and marsh blazingstar are among the many species found here. Nesting American woodcock and the eastern bluebird, insects with whimsical names, such as the purple maniac and the great golden digger wasps, have been observed. Sid Yates Flatwoods is listed in the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory and includes 78 acres rich with pin, bur, white, and red oaks, shagbark hickory, abundant spring flora, and woodlandgrasses such as manna grass, bottlebrush grass, nodding fescue, and Canada wild rye.

OXBOW PRAIRIE, formed by an old loop in the river’s course, lies northwest of Bunker Hill. Northern dropseed, Indian grass, golden Alexanders, and stiff goldenrod are just some of the native plants here.

At INDIAN ROAD WOODS visitors can stroll through a grove of stately old bur oaks on a bluff above the river. In springtime, a large population of the rare wild hyacinth provides a delightful display.

SAUGANASH PRAIRIE GROVE is a mix of wet savanna, degraded marsh, and mature floodplain woods on both sides of the Chicago River. Belying its urban location, this uncommon plant woodland is dominated by swamp white oaks. You will see blue flag iris, Michigan lily, bluejoint grass, zig-zag goldenrod, wild geranium, and wood reed.