At one time, prairies dominated more than 60 percent of the Illinois landscape. Tallgrass prairie thrived in areas with more rainfall than in the shorter, mixed-grass prairies and Great Plains to the west. Aptly named, tallgrass prairies grew nearly to the height of a horse and rider, although the rich and diverse plant life also included shorter grasses and hundreds of species of wildflowers. Today, less than one-hundredth of one percent of true tallgrass prairie remains in Illinois.

Over the last decade, TWI has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service at Midewin to return the prairie on a large scale, providing extensive technical and financial support for habitat restoration. Since 1997, TWI has successfully leveraged over $1.5 million to support the restoration of more than 900 acres of once-lost and degraded wetland and prairie habitat. TWI has modeled how private organizations can partner with federal agencies to accomplish significant work. In 2007 the South Patrol Road Restoration Project—TWI’s second Midewin project—was one of three projects honored nationally by the U.S. Forest Service for outstanding habitat conservation in a public-private partnership.

Today, TWI and the Forest Service continue to restore Midewin, partnering to restore important dolomitic wetland and prairie habitat. This type of habitat, naturally formed by catastrophic flood events that exposed underlying dolomitic bedrock, is some of the rarest in the country. Many of the 32 threatened or endangered plant and animal species at Midewin rely on these habitats to survive. Because so little dolomitic prairie remains today, this effort, in conjunction with other nearby restored areas, will restore one of the largest areas of dolomitic habitat in the country.

Beginning in 2009, TWI and Midewin Forest Service will also begin restoring over 500 acres of wetland, prairie, and stream habitat along Midewin’s Grant Creek. Called the Grant Creek Restoration project, this effort will link new habitat with previously restored areas,  including the adjacent, high-quality habitat at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Grant Creek Prairie Nature Preserve, to create one of the largest, contiguous restored complexes of wetland and prairie in the state. It will also potentially lead to reintroductions of federally listed species, such as the extremely rare eastern prairie fringed orchid.

When fully restored, Midewin's wetland/prairie landscape will provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and unprecedented open space for Chicagoland residents and visitors to enjoy. Midewin currently offers visitors and outdoor enthusiasts a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see a restored prairie and native wildlife on a large scale. Bike trails, hiking trails, and a visitor’s center are already available, bringing in an estimated 10,000 visitors and over 3,500 students a year, according to Forest Service staff. Midewin also hosts numerous volunteer and citizen-scientist groups that actively monitor bird, butterfly, and frog populations throughout the restored areas, providing a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the natural history and ecology of the region.

In fact, once restoration activities are completed, the number of annual visitors to Midewin is anticipated to grow to between 1 and 5 million. As one commentator put it, due to its size, long-term restoration schedule, and future opportunities for public recreation and involvement, Midewin could one day become the “first national park of the 22nd century.”

Many agencies and foundations have made significant contributions to the restoration work at Midewin, including: Alliance Pipeline, LLC, BP, Conservation Fund, the BNSF Railway Company, Corlands, the Dow Chemical Company Foundation, Dr. Scholl Foundation, Ecolab Foundation, Enbridge Energy Company, Field Foundation of Illinois, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Grand Victoria Foundation, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (C2000), Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation, North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA), Oberweiler Foundation, Siragusa Foundation, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Links:

U.S. Forest Service's Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Summary of TWI-USFS Partnership (PDF)

TWI's Corporate Supporters

The Use of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Imagery for the Study of Prairie Ecosystems, a study by J.P. Tandarich, W.J. Sluis, L. Biehl, C. Johannsen, and P. Carter