Into the Wild

Fermilab Prairie

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DuPage and Kane Counties, IL

I’ll admit that the idea of visiting the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, for the first time was a bit unnerving. After all, few natural areas within the Chicago Wilderness require visitors to show ID as they pass through a U.S. Department of Energy security checkpoint. But with a cordial greeting at the gate and a point in the right direction, I was standing on the edge of one of the region’s monumental prairie reconstruction projects.

Before Northeastern Illinois University professor Robert Betz and regional plant ecology expert Ray Schulenberg shared their vision of returning thousands of acres of cropland at Fermilab to a pre-1800s landscape, no one had considered such an ambitious habitat-improvement endeavor. Today, more than 30 years and 1,200 acres later, Fermilab ecologists and grounds crews, aided by a corps of volunteers, have shown natural resource managers across the country the possibilities of large-scale restoration.

For security reasons, the larger tracts of Fermilab’s high-quality habitats, such as the interior of the particle-accelerator ring, are only open to the public on scheduled volunteer workdays. The Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail along Pine Road, however, is accessible every day of the week.

The mowed path loops through an otherwise impenetrable mass of prairie dock, compass plant, white indigo, pale purple coneflower, rattlesnake master, golden Alexanders, and wild bergamot, among others. When ecologists discovered turtlehead at the site, a host plant for rare Baltimore checkerspot butterflies, they brought in additional plugs, with the hope of introducing checkerspots to the area in a year or two.

In late summer and fall, butterfly activity changes with the mercury. Tom Peterson, cryogenic engineer with Fermilab and resident lepidopterist, has noted typical August butterflies even in early September. Monarchs, sulphurs, question marks, eastern commas, red admirals, and painted ladies may still take wing in consistent, mild conditions. He’s even spotted orange and clouded sulphurs taking nectar from fall-blooming New England asters in mid-to-late October.

First planted in 1986, the prairie surrounding the interpretive trail grew from the systematic use of seeding, weeding, and prescription fire, a testament to Betz’s idea that, given the right conditions, native prairie species will ultimately outcompete European grasses. In the fall, visitors may see part of this restorative regime as grounds crews use converted combines from the land’s agricultural past to harvest seeds. “With this kind of equipment, we can collect up to 10,000 pounds in a season,” explains Fermilab ecologist Rod Walton.

Volunteers are hands-on with the harvest, too. Fermilab Natural Areas, the agency’s nonprofit support group, coordinates volunteer workdays throughout the site, listed on their calendar of events.

Unless security levels change, Fermilab is open to the public every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from mid-October to mid-April and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the rest of the year. For current access status, visitors should call (630) 840-3351.

— Jayne Bohner

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Classic Prairie Restorations, CW Summer 2000