Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Opens 5,000 Acres to Public

The 19,000-acre Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie opened roughly 5,000 acres to the public on June 5. Nearly all of the preserve, formerly a military weapons arsenal, has been off-limits to visitors while officials prepared it for a massive longterm prairie restoration. The newly opened acreage consists of two areas — the East and West Units. The majority of the 2,000-acre East Unit is currently agricultural fields and will remain so for the next two or three years. The remainder is woodland. Prairie Creek flows through the landscape, past rows of former explosives storage bunkers (a few will be left open for visitors).

The 3,000-acre West Unit was grazed but not farmed, so a few wetlands remain. Numerous grassland birds have nested in the former pastures.

Pat Thrasher, interpretive specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, emphasizes that Midewin is currently a "prairie in name only." He hopes that visitors will explore the five miles of interim trails to witness the "process and progress" of bringing native species back to the Chicago region's largest single preserve.

For directions, tours, and events, call (815) 423.6370 or visit www.fs.fed.us/mntp.

— Elizabeth Riotto