ILLINOIS NATURE PRESERVES COMMISSION AGENDA

ONE HUNDRED NINETY SIXTH MEETING

Mt. Hope Community Hall

104 N. Clinton Street

McLean, IL

October 23, 2007 10:00 a.m.

*Documentary Material Enclosed

Item 1: Call to Order, Roll Call, and Introduction of Attendees

Item 2:* Adoption of Agenda

Item 3:* Approval of Minutes of the 195^th Meeting Minutes, August 7, 2007

Item 4: Proposed 2008 Meeting Schedule

February 5, 2008	10:00 a.m.	Northfield Inn and Conference Center, Springfield
May 6, 2008	9:00 a.m.	Location to be determined, Galena
August 5, 2008	10:00 a.m.	Location to be determined, Joliet
October 28, 2008	10:00 a.m.	World Shooting & Recreational Complex, Sparta

Item 5: INPC Staff Report

REPORT

Randy Heidorn and John Nelson

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 6: IDNR Staff Report

REPORT

Glen Kruse

IDNR, Office of Resource Conservation

Item 7: Endangered Species Protection Board Staff Report

REPORT

Randy Nyboer

Endangered Species Protection Board Manager

Item 8:* McLean Co. – Funks Grove Land and Water Reserve, Registration

Six tracts totaling 453.36 acres, owned by the Sugar Grove Foundation, are being proposed as the Funks Grove Land and Water Reserve. Four of the tracts (283 acres) are within the Funks Grove Natural Area (Illinois Natural Areas Inventory [INAI] #721) and support grade A and B mesic upland and floodplain forest. Large canopy trees include sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black walnut, (Juglans nigra), white oak (Quercus alba), blue ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata), and bur oak (Q. macrocarpa). The Timber Creek Natural Area meanders through parts of two of the tracts, is near the boundary of two others, and supports a population of the state- threatened slippershell mussel (Alasmidonta viridis) plus at least 14 other mussel species. One of the two forested non-INAI tracts functions as a buffer for part of the adjacent proposed land and water reserve, Timber Creek, and a 63-acre portion of the adjacent Funks Grove Natural Area that is owned by the University of Illinois. The other forested non-INAI tract of 90.18 acres, known as Murphy’s Grove, is located along Sugar Creek about 1.5 miles to the northwest of the main proposed land and water reserve; this remnant prairie grove is approximately 9 miles upstream from the beginning of the Sugar Creek-Salt Creek Drainage Natural Area (INAI #1521) and 14 miles upstream from the Sandra Miller Bellrose Nature Preserve. The forest and stream communities at this proposed land and water reserve are representative of the Grand Prairie Section of the Grand Prairie Natural Division. Registration of the six tracts that make up this site will help implement the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan (IWAP) through the following priority action campaigns: Forests, Streams, Farmland and Prairies, Invasive Species, and Land and Water Stewardship. Species in Greatest Need of Conservation that will benefit from protection of this site include the spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and nine species of birds. The Sugar Grove Foundation wishes to ensure the continued protection and proper restoration management of their six tracts by having them permanently registered as a land and water reserve.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Tom Lerczak Registration Approval

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 9:* Vermilion Co. – Larimore’s Salt Fork of the Vermilion River Land and Water

Reserve, Registration

The proposed Larimore’s Salt Fork of the Vermilion River Land and Water Reserve is part of a farm owned by Dr. and Mrs. Richard Larimore. The site is 10 miles southwest of Danville within the Vermilion River Section of the Wabash Border Natural Division. Dr. and Mrs. Larimore wish to register approximately 51.4 acres of their land along the Salt Fork as a land and water reserve. The proposed land and water reserve encompasses approximately 1.7-miles of the Salt Fork, with segments totaling approximately 1.3 miles occurring along one bank of the River and the remaining 0.4 mile-long stretches lying on both banks of the River. The Salt Fork of the Vermilion River in Vermilion County is a biologically significant stream that supports state-listed aquatic animals and has healthy fish, mussel, and macroinvertebrate populations. It is recognized as an outstanding stream by the INAI (#1427). The proposed land and water reserve encompasses a stretch of the River that provides habitat for three state-listed mussel species: purple wartyback, Cyclonaias tuberculata (state-threatened), wavy-rayed lampmussel, Lampsilis fasciola (state-endangered), and rainbow, Villosa iris (state-endangered) and two state-endangered fish: bluebreast darter (Etheostoma camarum) and bigeye chub (Hybopsis amplops). Protection of Larimore’s Salt Fork of the Vermilion River Land and Water Reserve supports several action steps identified in the IWAP for the Streams Campaign. The proposed land and water reserve also provides habitat for five mussel and six fish species in greatest need of conservation, and it is within the Vermilion River Conservation Opportunity Area as identified in the IWAP.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Mary Kay Solecki Registration Approval

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 10:* Cook Co. – Natural Land Institute - George B. Fell Prairie Nature Preserve Addition to Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve

The Natural Land Institute and the City of Markham seek preliminary approval for dedication of 12.39 acres as the Natural Land Institute - George B. Fell Prairie Nature Preserve addition to Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve. The proposed addition is located in the Chicago Lake Plain Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division and consists of 91 lots (7.67 acres) and platted, but not built upon, roads (4.72 acres). The 91 lots and platted roads are subject to an agreement between the Natural Land Institute and the City of Markham that provides for exchange of properties and provides that the City of Markham will “... assist and cooperate with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, in good faith, to facilitate the dedication of the Markham properties as an Illinois Nature Preserve.” The proposed addition is located just south of Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve and lies embedded within boundaries for both the INAI site (#400) and the National Registry of Natural Landmarks designated by the U.S. National Park Service. Elements of high-quality mesic prairie and sedge meadow, and grade C mesic sand prairie and wet-mesic prairie occur within the proposed addition. The proposed addition supports a population of the federally-threatened and state-endangered eastern prairie fringed orchid (Habenaria leucophaea), state-endangered grass pink orchid (Calopogon tuberosus), and state-threatened small sundrops (Oenothera perennis). Dedication of this addition is consistent with the recommendations of an approved Master Plan for this site, good preserve design considerations, and elements of the IWAP, specifically action steps to restore and manage high-quality wetland and prairie communities. Dedication of the proposed addition (12.39) acres will increase the size of Gensburg- Markham Prairie Nature Preserve from 125.826 acres to 138.216 acres. To date, there are an additional 31.934 acres that have received preliminary approval for dedication as additions to Gensburg-Markham Prairie. A quote from “A legacy of natural lands - George B. Fell and the Natural Land Institute” summarizes the leadership provided by George B. Fell: “The fight to preserve Gensburg-Markham Prairie was to be George’s last, and his penultimate preservation effort.”

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Steven Byers Preliminary Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 11:* Lee Co. – Hazelwood Forest Nature Preserve, Dedication

The Walgreen family proposes to dedicate 43.7 acres as Hazelwood Forest Nature Preserve. The proposed Hazelwood Forest Nature Preserve is part of the larger Lowell Park natural area which has long been the subject of preservation efforts by the Dixon Park District and the Walgreen family. This site is located in the Oregon Section of the Rock River Country Natural Division. In 1966, at the suggestion of INPC Commissioner Myrtle Walgreen, and after consult with the Dixon Park District, the INPC passed a resolution which granted preliminary approval for dedication of Lowell Park as an Illinois Nature Preserve. However, over the ensuing years, the site was never formally dedicated. Protection efforts waned until the mid 1990s. At that time, staff of the Dixon Park District, the IDNR, and the INPC renewed interest in preserving the site and initiated formal plant community surveys. The surveys were necessary to nominate Lowell Park for inclusion on the INAI. In 2002, the site was added to the INAI (#1622) as a category I site containing grade B dry-mesic upland forest and grade B mesic upland forest. Protection and restoration of this area supports several action steps for the Forests Campaign and Invasive Species Campaign of the IWAP.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

John Nelson Preliminary Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 12:* McLean Co. – Duncan R. Funk Addition to Stubblefield Woodlots Nature Preserve,

Dedication

A 7.52-acre tract within the Funks Grove Natural Area (INAI #721), owned by Mr. Duncan R. Funk, is being proposed as a nature preserve addition to Stubblefield Woodlots Nature Preserve. Stubblefield Woodlots Nature Preserve consists of two parcels (5.22 acres and 6.49 acres) that are separated from each other by approximately 90 feet. The proposed nature preserve addition is adjacent to the 6.49- acre parcel. Except for a modest gravel road crossing the site, this tract is completely forested with grade B mesic upland forest representative of the Grand Prairie Section of the Grand Prairie Natural Division. Large canopy trees include sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black walnut, (Juglans nigra), white oak (Quercus alba), and bur oak (Q. macrocarpa). Dedication of the nature preserve addition will directly support the implementation of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, particularly the Forests Campaign under action item #7: “Restore and manage high-quality examples of all forest, savanna and barrens communities, including all grade A and B Illinois Natural Inventory sites....” Approval of this addition will increase the size of the Stubblefield Woodlots Nature Preserve from 11.7 acres to 19.2 acres, significantly enhancing the ecological viability of this small nature preserve.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Tom Lerczak Preliminary Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 13:* Piatt Co. – Heartland Pathways Prairie Nature Preserve, Dedication

The proposed Heartland Pathways Prairie Nature Preserve is a 52.3-acre former railroad corridor located between Monticello and Cisco in Piatt County that is owned by Heartland Pathways, a private, non-profit organization founded in 1987. Heartland Pathways lies in the Grand Prairie Section of the Grand Prairie Natural Division. Much of the proposed nature preserve is recognized by the INAI as a category II endangered species site (#1429) that provides habitat for a state- endangered reptile. The proposed nature preserve also contains grade B and C prairie remnants. Protection of the proposed nature preserve supports action steps identified for the Farmland and Prairie Campaign to restore and manage native prairie communities and populations of imperiled and extirpated prairie wildlife. In addition, the proposed nature preserve provides habitat for a state-endangered reptile identified as a species of greatest need in conservation by the IWAP. The proposed nature preserve lies just south of Old Route 47 and is composed of a north tract and a south tract; each tract is 40 feet wide and approximately 5.4 miles long. One tract lies north of and parallel to the former railroad bed and the other tract lies south of and parallel to the former railroad bed. A 20-foot wide strip of land between the two tracts proposed as the nature preserve is excluded from the preserve. This 20-foot wide strip includes the former railroad bed and ballast. It is used as a hiking trail and may eventually be further developed as a pathway and/or converted back to an active railroad line. Rural subdivision development is occurring south of the proposed nature preserve. The City of Monticello and the developers of Appletree Subdivision want to create a road cut through the eastern part of the proposed Heartland Pathway Nature Preserve to provide access from Appletree Subdivision across the pathway to Old Route 47, north of the subdivision. Currently access to Appletree Subdivision is from County Farm Road on the south side of the subdivision. The location of the potential road access within the proposed nature preserve contains suitable habitat for a state-endangered reptile.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Mary Kay Solecki Preliminary Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 14:* Cook Co. – Calumet City Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve, Dedication

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) is seeking final approval for dedication of 40 acres of Calumet City Prairie as Calumet City Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve. The proposed nature preserve is located in the Chicago Lake Plain Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division in the corporate limits of Calumet City, Illinois. The dune and swale topography at this site, once a dominant feature of the Chicago Lake Plain Section, includes sand dunes interposed with swales. The site was included on the INAI (#497) for high-quality dry-mesic sand prairie, mesic prairie, wet-mesic prairie, and marsh. These natural communities support four state-listed plant species including grass pink orchid (Calopogon tuberosus), marsh St. John’s wort (Hypericum virginicum), Richardon’s rush (Juncus alpinus), and marsh speedwell (Veronica scutellata). Dedication of Calumet City Prairie and Marsh is consistent with the IWAP specifically several action steps identified for the Farmland and Prairies Campaign and the Wetlands Campaign. Further, dedication of this site honors the commitment of both the FPDCC and the INPC to collaborate to preserve sites of state-wide ecological significance. The Commission conferred preliminary approval for dedication at the Commission’s 195^th Meeting in August, 2007 (Resolution #1961).

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Steven Byers Final Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 15:* DuPage Co. – West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve Buffer Addition to Truitt-Hoff

Nature Preserve, Dedication

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County (FPDDC) is seeking final approval for dedication of 169.5 acres of the West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve as a nature preserve buffer addition to Truitt-Hoff Nature Preserve. Truitt-Hoff Nature Preserve received final approval for dedication at the Commission’s 190^th Meeting in May, 2006 (Resolution #1880). The proposed nature preserve buffer addition is located in the Morainal Section of the Northeastern Illinois Morainal Natural Division in West Chicago, Illinois and includes elements of mesic prairie, wet prairie, sedge meadow, marsh, and wet-mesic savanna. These natural communities have responded well to more than 20 years of restoration and management by volunteers and staff of the FPDDC and provides habitat for three state-listed plants: western beard tongue (Penstemon tubaeflorus), little green sedge (Carex viridula), and white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum). The site also has breeding habitat for the state-threatened Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingi), and the state-threatened Henslow’s sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii). Dedication of this nature preserve buffer addition is consistent with the IWAP, specifically several action steps identified for the Farmland and Prairies Campaign and the Wetlands Campaign. The site supports several species identified in the plan as “critical species” for this natural division which includes the silver-bordered fritillary (Bolorig selene), silvery checkerspot (Militaea nycteis), Blanding’s turtle, Henslow’s sparrow, sandhill crane (Grus canadensis), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), and red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Dedication of this buffer addition will increase the size of Truitt- Hoff Nature Preserve from 115.974 acres to 285.475 acres. The Commission conferred preliminary approval for dedication at the Commission’s 195^th Meeting in August, 2007 (Resolution #1962).

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Steven Byers Final Approval for Dedication

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 16:* Cook Co. – Proposal to Translocate the Regal Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria idalia) to

the Indian Boundary Prairies (Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve and

Sundrop Prairie Nature Preserve)

The regal fritillary butterfly (Speyeria idalia) is listed as a threatened species in Illinois. Since the 1970s, the species has experienced a precipitous decline east of the Mississippi River and is today absent from many states where it formerly occurred. In Illinois, robust populations can still be found at The Nachusa Grasslands and in the sand prairies southwest of Peoria. A large population still exists on both sides of the Indiana/Illinois state line in the Kankakee Sands region (Newton/Iroquois counties). In the Chicago Metropolitan area, populations were known from the Gensburg- Markham Prairie until the late 1970s and from the dune areas near Braidwood through the late 1980s. Both of these populations have been extirpated. The Chicago Academy of Sciences proposes to reintroduce this species to Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve and Sundrop Prairie Nature Preserve. Currently the Kankakee Sands population is the closest geographically to the Indian Boundary Prairies. No genetic studies have been conducted on the this population, but this species is a wide ranging butterfly and it is likely that the Braidwood population had been a stepping stone population between the donor and recipient sites allowing for at least some genetic flow. In September, 2007, 5-10 gravid female S. idalia were collected from the donor site approximately five miles northwest of Enos, in Newton County Indiana. Females were transported to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago in a chilled cooler, then placed on pots of woolly blue violet (Viola sororia) covered with muslin sleeves to induce ovopositioning. Larvae were reared to pupation on the potted host plants. Pupae will be transported to the translocation site, and affixed to vegetation in the field where they are to be established. After consultation with several Commissioners, preliminary translocation was planned for September, 2007. Translocation is proposed for both 2007 and 2008. The established population will be monitored at the population and genetic level. All other required permits have already been obtained. This is being presented to the Commission for formal approval of the ongoing and future translocation of the regal fritillary butterfly.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Doug Taron Approval of the Project

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Kelly Neal

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 17:* Johnson Co. – Introduction of the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys

temminckii) at Heron Pond-Little Black Slough Nature Preserve

An official IDNR-approved Endangered Species Recovery Plan for the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) was approved in February, 2006 by all Divisions of the IDNR Office of Resource Conservation and Office Director Mike Conlin. As extreme southern Illinois was once the stronghold for this animal, this is the most logical place to begin our recovery/reintroduction efforts. A total of eight official release sites in the Cache River and Big Muddy River watersheds have been selected by the recovery team. Animals including yearlings, juveniles, and adults will be obtained from the State of Louisiana either through purchase and/or capture from the wild. Current research shows no genetic variation between turtles within the Mississippi River drainage (which includes Illinois and Louisiana). Permission has been granted to the IDNR from the State of Louisiana to live trap and transport animals back to Illinois for recovery efforts. Currently we have approximately 30 yearling turtles being housed at the Glen Oak Zoo in Peoria and six biologists from the IDNR will be traveling to Louisiana in October, 2007. The IDNR is seeking permission from the INPC to release all yearlings and some wild captured animals at Heron Pond/Little Black Slough Nature Preserve in the spring of 2008. This site is an ideal first release site as it is protected and contains prime habitat for the alligator snapping turtle.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Joe Kath Approval of the Project

Department of Natural Resources

Kelly Neal

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 18:* Vegetation Management Guidelines

The Management Guidelines give landowners and managers guidance on how to address a land management issue in a nature preserve or land and water reserve. Once approved by the Commission, they become part of the policy guidance used by staff to review and approve management plans. Updated Vegetation Management Guidelines for control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), exotic buckthorns (Rhamnus spp. and Frangula alnus), and leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), and newly developed guidelines for musk thistle (Carduus nutans) and purple rocket (Hesperis matronalis) will be presented for approval. The guidelines were submitted to INPC Consultants, Advisors, and selected natural area land managers for review. Recommended changes were incorporated into the documents.

REPORT ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED

Bob Edgin Approval of Management Guidelines

Nature Preserves Commission

Item 19: Public Comment Period (3 minutes per person)

Item 20: Other Business

Item 21: Adjournment