Winter 2001

Winter visitors will enjoy the pine scent and needle-softened trail leading into the savanna of white, bur, and black oaks

McHenry County, Illinois

Saved from housing and agricultural development, Lyons Woods is a 264-acre high quality mix of restored prairie, oak savanna, forest and fen near Waukegan. The preserve is named for its first known landowner, Isaac Reed Lyons of Massachusetts, who arrived here in 1843 and served as an alderman and business owner in Waukegan.

An evergreen grove just off the parking lot on Blanchard Road–a great spot for birding–was once part of George Pavlik’s tree nursery in the 1940s. Winter visitors will enjoy the pine scent and needle-softened trail leading north into the savanna of planted white, bur and black oaks. Red osier dogwood, bottlebrush grass, New England asters, and grassleaf goldenrod line the trail in the meadow of former agricultural fields. Tom Smith, Lake County Forest Preserve District Volunteer Coordinator, explains that though the area is still somewhat degraded, his teams have put in a lot of work planting and burning. They can take pride in fall’s healthy display of prairie thistle and side-flowering aster. There’s also a notable lack of buckthorn, garlic mustard and unwanted weeds.

An outstanding mesic prairie, covering the west half of the preserve, and also accessible from Blanchard Rd., just west of North Ave., harbors several state-endangered species.

Flowing in the prairie winds, big bluestem, Indian and switch grasses, soon to be tamped down with snow, surround several abandoned goldfinch nests and busy bluebird boxes. Bluebird habitat efforts have been successful here; several bright males may be seen flitting between the taller dogwood and buckthorn trees. Students at nearby Clark School have helped with the boxes, plantings and workdays, as part of the Mighty Acorns and Preservation Partners programs. Near the school, dozens of low, pillowy stands of prairie dropseed grass appear. Dropseed is considered to be the most common prairie plant native to the area, rather than the taller grasses, according to letters from Dr. George Vasey, 19th century botanist and expert on grasses (see p. 10).

In spring and summer, look for trillium, liatris, sedges, Drummond’s aster and several varieties of goldenrod. Towering sawtooth sunflower, iris and prairie dock also provide shelter for bobolinks, prairie larks, and many species of snake. Red-tail fox are also at home here.

Lyons Woods is bounded on the west by the North Shore bike path (McClory Trail), and includes three more miles of trials open to hiking, bicycling and cross-country skiing. Pets are allowed on leashes, and a public toilet is available at the easternmost Blanchard Road trail entrance. — Lisa Phillips