Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Illinois, United States

5ozwizard50 5:00 PM Jun 4, 2020

Something different
Finding that near Joliet Illinois, there was this Nature Preserve call Madeline National Tallgrass Prairie that looked interesting for bird watching. We arrived and found the visitor Center was closed due to the recent viral pandemic. Outside the building, they were Maps I'm like to see there. All the trails were open and you could hike wherever you liked. We decided to go and check out the Bison View. Nothing was actually there at that view, but we did find them a ways off under the only tree in the field. It was Plus 90 degrees on that day and I would imagine that was their only relief. We also hiked around a bit on the Prairie and in the woods and found many unusual Birds. I wish we had had more time to take in this wonderful property. It was a joy to be there just the short time. Someday, I want to return and spend the entire day. There was no cost involved and it wasn't crowded in the least.

5Taylor B 5:00 PM Aug 6, 2021

Be sure to see the Bison
Living in downtown Chicago since the 1970s, my wife and I can count our yearly encounters with grasslands and forests and nature preserves on one hand. Not to mention a glimpse of American bison. So while visiting the small town of Wilmington, Illinois, in Will County, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, we visited the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the United States and the largest conservation site in the Chicago Wilderness region. Located on Illinois Route 53, on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant between the towns of Elwood, Manhattan and Wilmington, it is the only federal tallgrass prairie preserve east of the Mississippi River, where surviving areas of its rich habitat of grasslands, savannas and shrublands are extremely rare. There is evidence that a pre-European village from the Oneota culture along today's Middle Creek occupied this area around 1600. Established in 1996, Midewin forms the heart of a conservation macrosite that covers more than 400,000 acres of protected land. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the reserve is the herd of American bison, which were introduced to the area in 2015 to study their interaction with prairie restoration and conservation. The use of 1,200 acres of the Midewin Prairie was approved with a 20-year plan to study the relationship between the historic large grazing animal, which once numbered in the millions but almost became extinct, and prairie restoration and health. Originally, a herd of 27 Bison were introduced, including four bulls. By late 2017, births had increased the size of the herd to 50. Today, visitors have an opportunity to view the Bison from a viewing stand near the visitors center. Over 7,000 acres of the reserve are open with public trails for non-motorized recreation.