ILLINOIS’ IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM

In the fall of 2000 the Chicago Wilderness office of Audubon held an organizational meeting to coordinate the development of Audubon’s Illinois IBA program. Major stakeholders in the state were represented, including Illinois Audubon, the Audubon Council of Illinois, Illinois Ornithological Society, The Nature Conservancy, American Bird Conservancy, Chicago Wilderness, Bird Conservation Network, Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and ornithologists from the University of Illinois. Agreement was reached on moving forward with the program. Individuals were identified to form a State Technical Committee, and funding is currently being sought to hire a coordinator.

CANDIDATE* IMPORTANT BIRD AREA
Name: Prairie Parklands
State: Illinois
Counties: Will and Grundy Counties
Nearest Communities: Joliet

Site Description: This area, within the area of the state known as the Prairie Parklands region, occurs near the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers with the Illinois River. It is composed primarily of four large tracts: the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Goose Lake Prairie State Park, Des Plaines State Conservation Area, and the Joliet Training Area. Together they make up the most outstanding grassland ecosystem in the state. The area contains some shrubland and woodland habitat, but the dominant vegetation is grassland, including a number of types of native prairie (in various stages of restoration), and palustrine emergent wetlands.

Ornithological Summary: This area has the State’s largest populations of a number of grassland species, including Upland Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow, and WatchListed Bobolink. Other significant species found here include King Rail and WatchListed Henslow’s Sparrow, as well as Pied-billed Grebe, Least Bittern, American Bittern, Common Moorhen, Northern Harrier, WatchListed Short-eared Owl, WatchListed Red-headed Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, and Orchard Oriole.

Conservation Issues: As with most prairie habitat in Illinois, the Prairie Parklands has suffered severe habitat loss and degradation in the last 100 years as a result of conversion to agriculture, fire suppression, the draining of wetlands, and the encroachment of invasive plant species. However, in comparison to the surrounding landscape that is largely dominated by row crops, this area has been less heavily impacted and has better potential for restoration. Goose Lake Prairie is probably the largest native prairie remnant east of the Mississippi, and due to military activities that limited disturbance, the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant provided some protection for native birds. In the 1990s the Ammunition Plant was dedicated as the nation’s first National Tallgrass Prairie – the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The area is now undergoing one of the largest grassland restorations ever undertaken.

* Candidate sites are being considered for designation as Important Bird Areas by the respective State Technical Committee.

To Learn More About Illinois’
Important Bird Areas Program

Contact:
Judy Pollock
Chicago Wilderness Audubon
5225 Old Orchard Road, Suite 37
Skokie, IL 60077
(847)965-1150
jpollock@audubon.org