Forest Preserve Receives Grant For Clusters Created By Glaciers

WILL COUNTY, IL — A unique cluster of southern Will County forest preserves will benefit from a $92,000 grant awarded recently by the Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program.

The funding, announced Monday by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, will be spent to restore habitat at the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, Kankakee Sands Preserve and Sand Ridge Savanna Nature Preserve.

"This grant helps the Forest Preserve District continue one of the greatest ecological restorations we have ever attempted," said Floyd Catchpole, the district’s land management program coordinator.

The grant will be used to improve habitat for 20 species considered endangered or threatened in Illinois and 43 species in the greatest conservation need, a state designation for species that are in serious trouble but not yet endangered.

The district’s three preserves, combined with the nearby state-owned Hitts Siding Prairie and Wilmington Shrub Prairie, are referred to as the Braidwood Sands region by Catchpole. The almost 3,000-acre region is unique because it was once the lake bed for Lake Wauponsee, which was created by glaciers 19,000 years ago.

When the moraine that held the water back broke, it created the largest known flood event in Illinois, the Kankakee Torrent. Eventually the water receded leaving behind sandy soils along with remnant prairies, wetlands and savannas, which make this area of Will County unlike any other.

"As a result, the Braidwood Sands area has far more rare species than any other area in Will County," Catchpole said of the unique mixture of soil and terrain.

Since the early 2000s, the district has been working to connect and restore these preserves.

"To date, we have converted over 400 acres of agricultural fields into prairie, greatly reduced invasive species and restored natural prairies and savannas," Catchpole said. "Braidwood Sands area is a work in progress, but with the help of Illinois Habitat Fund grants, we continue to make good progress restoring the rare prairie and savanna habitat that support so many rare and endangered species."

The state funding will be matched with $110,000 of District funds to provide $202,000 for the work. The Forest Preserve was one of seven entities that received a portion of $958,096 in 2021 habitat grants. Funding for the Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program comes from the sale of Habitat Stamps that are required to hunt upland game.

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