PHOTO COURTESY BRADY TRYLONG DRONE SOLUTIONS The Gazette
Horseshoe shaped oxbow on the former Hazel Doty property now owned by NLI.

    Natural Land Institute (NLI) is pleased to announce that two parcels of land were purchased in December 2024, totaling 208 acres, to protect their natural features and wildlife habitat. These projects were made possible because of the tremendous support of NLI members.

    On Dec. 16, the land conservation organization closed on 80 acres of land, formerly known as the Blackhawk Kennel Property and adjacent to the north side of their 80-acre Pecatonica Ridge Prairie in Pecatonica, expanding it to a 160-acre grassland complex featuring remnant native prairie and adding a wet prairie slough and a half mile stretch of the spring fed Doty Creek.

    On Dec. 30, NLI closed on a 128-acre property from the Hazel Doty Estate, located on Telegraph Rd. in Pecatonica. In addition to a mile of the Pecatonica River flowing along its border, there are two oxbow wetlands, a mesic forest floodplain, an artesian spring and antique cattle trough, and the outlet of Doty Creek.

    The oxbows and river act as a water source for wildlife, as well as habitat. The many wetlands on the property provide critical nurseries for fish, habitat for waterfowl and amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders), and a breeding ground for dragonflies. The spring ephemeral flower-filled woodland provides critical food for new queen bumblebees and other pollinators.

    Birds observed on a visit to this property included Sandhill Crane, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Red-headed Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, Sedge Wren, and Eastern Bluebird. A Bald Eagle’s nest graces the largest tree on the property.

    Both of the parcels purchased in December are linked by Doty Creek and other protected lands owned by NLI, Forest Preserves of Winnebago County, and the Illinois Conservation Foundation in rural Pecatonica.

    These land purchases add to land protected earlier in the year by NLI. The 327-acre Jerry and Kathy Busse Prairie Preserve on Raccoon Creek was purchased in September and four conservation easements (a voluntary land protection agreement) were finalized this past summer for a total of 217 acres of protected land for private landowners.

    The total number of additional acres of land protected in 2024 by NLI is 752. This adds to the 18,000 acres of land already protected since 1958, bringing the new total to nearly 19,000 acres.

    NLI preserves that were conveyed to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for continued protection in 2024 were announced earlier this year: White Wood Ridge (55 acres), to expand Mississippi Palisades State Park, and Townsend Glade (144 acres), to expand Apple River Canyon State Park.

    NLI’s conservation efforts are important – not only to protect our land, air and water, but from a cultural perspective, as well. While it is difficult to quantify the value of protecting our prairies, grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands, the need for clean water and air and for protecting our disappearing, treasured, landscapes is imperative.

About the Natural Land Institute

    The NLI, an accredited conservation land trust, is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization based in Rockford. The current service area covers 12 counties in northern Illinois. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. Since 1958 NLI has protected nearly 19,000 acres of land, primarily in Illinois with some in southern Wisconsin. NLI currently owns 3,471 acres (25 preserves) of protected land and holds 52 conservation easements (voluntary land protection agreements) on 4,589 acres of land owned by individuals and other conservation organizations.

    For more information and to donate visit NaturalLand.org

 
 
 
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