Surveying The Survey

One of the nation's oldest state biological surveys--often called Illinois' "biological memory"--turns 150 this year. What will the INHS record in the next 150?

Guest essay by David L. Thomas

On September 26 and 27, the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) celebrates 150 years of biological research and service to the citizens of Illinois. One of the oldest and most successful state institutions of its kind in the nation, the Survey has been called the biological memory of the state. Its extensive biological collections represent plants and animals collected and cataloged from every corner of Illinois over more than 100 years. Many species represented in these collections are now gone from the state. Others, such as the greater prairie chicken, hold on in a few fragmented habitats. The Survey houses large databases, the depth and age of which make them rich resources to researchers around the world. One of the real strengths of the Survey is its many long-term studies, which have created irreplaceable records of the changes in our fauna and flora over time.

Today's Survey has about 185 full-time scientists and support staff, and another 200 or so students, hourly workers, and technical staff. Why has the INHS been so successful while many surveys in other states have disappeared or are small and not well funded? Much credit goes to the brilliance and foresight of founding scientists such as John Wesley Powell, who went on to establish the U.S. Geological Survey, and Stephen A. Forbes, who headed the INHS for almost 50 years. Forbes brought the then State Laboratory of Natural History from Bloomington to the University of Illinois in 1885. It was not until 1917 that the organization officially became the Illinois Natural History Survey and Forbes the first chief. At that time, the INHS, along with the State Geological Survey and State Water Survey, moved to the state-run Department of Registration and Education. However, they always maintained an affiliation with the university, which continued to provide facilities and support. In fact, I believe that the complex relationship of residing in a state agency while remaining affiliated with the university has been one of the reasons for the continued success of all the scientific surveys. We were able to take advantage of the strengths and opportunities both offered.

My own personal history with the Survey illustrates the value the organization has had to so many students seeking training in the biological sciences. My very first job in biology was in the summer of 1964, after I had graduated with my BS from the University of Illinois. I was hired as a field assistant to work on a long-term pheasant monitoring project in Ford County, Illinois. This was the kind of job that hundreds of students have been able to take advantage of, and it was a great learning experience. In 1965, I started working for the Aquatic Biology Section of the Survey, and developed as part of our work on the Kaskaskia River a thesis project on the Percina darters of the river. It was this experience that helped me enter a PhD program at Cornell where I worked on estuarine fish in the lower Delaware River and upper Delaware Bay. After a sojourn out east, I returned to Illinois in 1985 as the first head of the newly formed Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center. In December of 1997 I became just the seventh chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey, a position I retained until my retirement at the end of February 2008. The last five or six years were difficult ones as budgets became tighter, vacant positions were often frozen and lost, and appreciation seemed to wane in some circles for the science that we were conducting.

From its very beginning, the Survey has struggled to find the resources necessary to conduct research on natural resource issues in the state. Support for research is often the first thing to be cut when budgets are tight. The earliest biological surveys (in the mid 1800s) of the plants and animals of Illinois were done by volunteers, and it was John Wesley Powell who garnered the first state funds to assist in this effort. Robert A. Croker's 2001 book on Stephen Forbes discusses the many times that Forbes had to go to Springfield to solicit the resources needed for the Survey to function and to carry out the research he saw as so vital to the economic and ecological interests of the state. In 1888, for example, Forbes lost two assistants to other organizations because of the inadequate provision for salaries. Issues of this nature persist to this day.

Forbes was always looking to the future, trying to anticipate issues and to begin addressing them through research before others realized that they were a problem. His repeated theme was that applied and pure science in the state and at the U of I had the obligation to stand in the closest possible relation to the general public welfare. And this mix of good science, addressing significant issues to the state, and communicating the results of studies--not only in peer reviewed scientific literature, but to natural resource managers, politicians, and the general public--has been a key to the long-term success of the Survey. Another key has been the hiring and retention of top scientists who have advanced their fields of study while addressing issues important to Illinois.

Yet another key to success has been the close association with the other state scientific surveys--Illinois Geological Survey, State Water Survey, and the Waste Management and Research Center (now the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center). As of July 1, 2008, these organizations, with the INHS, were removed from the Department of Natural Resources and became the Institute for Natural Resource Sustainability within the University of Illinois. Illinois is fortunate to have all these surveys working together on economic and natural resource issues, and the Chicago area has seen significant benefits from their science. All four surveys, for example, have worked in the Calumet area of Chicago to look at waste, water, geology, and ecosystem issues, and the science generated from these studies has been an important component of restoration efforts in the area. INHS has been an active participant in Chicago Wilderness, and much of our research in the area has contributed to our knowledge of local biodiversity.

INHS is proud of its accomplishments over the last 150 years, but we realize that we cannot rest on our past record. We continue to involve ourselves in such emerging issues as invasive species, restoration ecology, exotic animal-borne diseases, the effects of climate change on ecosystems, and urban ecology. We also realize that deeper and more extensive collaborations are going to be required in the future to solve some of our complex environmental problems, and we stand ready to lead and participate in these collaborative efforts.

David L. Thomas is chief emeritus of the Illinois Natural History Survey. Learn more about INHS's sesquicentennial celebration.