Into The Wild

Nippersink North Branch Preserve

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McHenry County, IL

The robust Ford F-150 driven by McHenry County Conservation District’s Natural Resource Manager Ed Collins bounced and lurched while traversing the craggy summit of the steep ridge formed by a segment of glacial moraine.

“Feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere!” shouted Collins while struggling to keep both hands on the vibrating steering wheel. I had to agree, navigating across the field on the yet-to-be-built trail, that the beauty of the small valley below us was astounding. Even though the weather wrapped us in the dull gray of a rainy March evening, the pristine creek that flowed brimming at its banks seemed to be singing that it was wild, free, and unblemished by civilization. Collins and I were plodding along the North Branch of the Nippersink Creek in one of the district’s newest conservation sites: the Nippersink North Branch Preserve.

Located just northwest of Richmond, Illinois, the Wisconsin state line forms the northernmost border of this 416-acre park. Purchased in three separate parcels from 1999 to 2001, the preserve is scheduled to open this summer.

One of the preserve’s claims to fame is the North Branch stream, one of the few “Class A” rated streams in the entire state of Illinois. It is so clean that it boasts 22 different species of mussels, including four state-threatened and one state-endangered species. Forty-seven different species of fish inhabit its waters. Native fish such as the banded darter and spotfin shiner, and game fish like the northern pike and smallmouth bass represent four of the ten silt-intolerant fish lurking in the pools and riffles of the well-preserved North Branch.

The surrounding preserve also boasts high biodiversity, and is in fact the most diverse site in McHenry County. In addition to its numerous fish and mussel species, it is home to 219 different plant species, 195 of which are native. Valuable grassland bird habitat is available as fen and sedge meadow (rated as high-quality by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory) and a prairie planted with short grasses favored by grassland birds. Sixty-three different species of birds have been sighted, including the dickcissel and sandhill crane.

Another main attraction at the preserve is biking. A short connector trail runs directly through the park, linking the newly opened Hebron Bike Trail with the 26-mile Prairie Bike Trail and the hundreds of miles of trails to which it connects. A small overnight bike campground is also being constructed.
Future plans include wetland restoration along the stream, a possible canoe landing, and even the potential of an extended bike trail to Lake Geneva. For more information, call (815) 338-6223.

— David Rigby