News

Chicago Gets First Nature Preserve

Chicago became a greener place to live in August, when the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission officially designated Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh an Illinois Nature Preserve. Though only a portion of the nature preserve lies within city limits, it was the first designation of its kind for Chicago.

The designation covers 130 of the preserve’s 192 acres, and will provide further protection to the unique features of the preserve. Powderhorn, which is owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is most notable for its ancient beach ridges — a legacy of melting glaciers — and several state endangered and threatened species that depend on its unique “swell and swale” topography.

Powderhorn Prairie has already begun to reap the benefits, according to site steward and Friends of the Forest Preserves Conservation Director Alice Brandon. The designation was one of the reasons the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation provided funding to the Friends to facilitate much needed invasive species removal and controlled burns. Brandon also said that the Illinois Nature Preserve designation will “add protection for stopping illegal trails and off-road driving that threatens one of our best remaining natural areas in Illinois, let alone the Chicago city limits.”

— Catherine Bendowitz