Winter 2004

Ecologists, hikers, and cross-country skiers can find much of interest in this preserve, along with picnickers and anglers

DuPage County, Illinois

To many, Wood Dale Grove Forest Preserve in northeastern DuPage County is known for its accommodating shelters and the nine-acre Grove Lake, a 28-foot-deep recreational resource stocked with largemouth bass, bluegills, crappie, channel catfish, sunfish, and rainbow trout. But ecological finds abound at this 179-acre preserve, and visitors without fishing poles and picnic baskets can discover much in an afternoon.

The 1.1-mile marked trail that follows Grove Lake's shoreline cuts north through a wooded area that is benefiting from Forest Preserve District management efforts. Winter hikers and cross-country skiers may very well see piles of freshly cut buckthorn along this portion of the trail, signs of a successful volunteer workday. In this upland savanna, colonies of Jack-in-the-pulpit, spring beauty, rue anemone, trout lily, and red trillium bloom in spring. In fact, more than 450 native species are rooted at this one preserve.

Avian migrants such as the common loon, yellow-rumped warbler, and ruby-crowned kinglet have been spotted here. Birders looking to add to their life lists may also want to note that the preserve has been host to the hooded warbler for the last two summers. Within the last year, monitors have sighted the black-cuckoo and the blue-gray gnatcatcher.

The larger and more ecologically diverse area of Wood Dale Grove, accessible by deer paths, lies north of Third Avenue. A moist-to-wet prairie and sedge meadow ecosystem appears first on this side of the preserve. District staff and volunteers have worked over the years to cut brush from the prairie, and the results are evident. Although a monochrome winter scheme blankets the area early in the year, when the weather warms, visitors will see golden Alexanders, blue-eyed grass, and balsam ragwort. Summer yields species such as white wild indigo, Michigan lily, and a spectacular display of marsh blazing star. And late summer and early fall bring asters, bottle gentians, and goldenrods. The area is home to some unusual shrubs such as New Jersey tea and meadowsweet, both with delicate white blooms.

North of this prairie spreads a black oak savanna and flatwoods system, another area once heavily invaded by buckthorn and recently restored by resource management efforts. The flatwoods community in particular is quite rare in DuPage County. Tree species such as bur, white, and black oak, as well as shagbark and bitternut hickory, prevail in drier portions. Rue anemone, wild geranium, white baneberry, and wild leeks inhabit the herb layer. Trees such as red and green ash, black willow, and swamp white oak characterize the flatwoods, with an understory of sedges, lady fern, water parsnip, and blue flag iris. The ephemeral ponds in this area provide habitat for a number of amphibian species.

For information on volunteering with restoration efforts at Wood Dale Grove or to learn about special events planned at the preserve, call the Forest Preserve District at (630) 933-7200.

— Jayne Bohner