The face of Illinois was forever changed with the arrival of humans, particularly European settlers. Gone are most of our prairies, wetlands, floodplain forests, and upland woods. Much of what remains of these habitats has been severely modified. It is not enough simply to preserve the few remaining high-quality natural areas, which cover less than 0.1% of the state. Rather, if we hope to protect and enhance our natural heritage, we must restore degraded areas and try to reconstruct natural habitats, or at least some important aspects of them, on sites formerly in agricultural or industrial use.

The Illinois Natural History Survey has long been active in restoration studies. Much of our work relates to basic research that underlies restoration. For example, we have staff studying the history of the state's vegetation, as a basis for determining restoration goals. Other staff are studying the effects of different management techniques on the success of restoration and reconstruction efforts. We also have been directly involved in some small-scale restoration projects, but recently INHS has become a partner in the most ambitious restoration projects ever undertaken in Illinois (detailed below). Two of these focus on prairie restoration on the vast acreage of two former military reservations, the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (formerly the Joliet Army Arsenal) and the Savanna Army Depot. The third involves restoring floodplain forests in the Cache River drainage in southern Illinois, where the river's flow, diverted early this century, is being allowed to return to its historic channel. We are proud to lend our expertise to these unprecedented efforts, which promise to allow future generations to experience some of what the first European settlers encountered.

Illinois is called the Prairie State, but only remnants of the original prairie remain. Large-scale conversion into agricultural land and urban development has eliminated more than 99% of the state's original prairie. At two sites in northern Illinois, however, INHS is involved in large-scale prairie restorations. Both sites are military installations that are being transferred from the Army to other federal agencies as part of base realignment and closure legislation. In 1997, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), established Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on 19,000 acres of the Joliet Arsenal in Will county. In the spring of 2000, the Savanna Army Depot, located in Carroll and Jo Daviess counties, will close and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will begin managing approximately 9,500 of its 13,000 acres as the Lost Mound Wildlife Area.

Before European settlement, the major vegetation type at both Midewin and the upland area of Lost Mound was prairie. Oak savanna and forest, riparian forest, and wetlands comprised the remainder. The landscape has changed considerably since then, however. Most of Midewin is now pasture and cropland with minimal native vegetation. Lost Mound is still dominated by native vegetation, but it has been highly degraded by heavy grazing, extensive road and bunker construction, and fire suppression. Despite their disturbed state, each site harbors more than 15 state threatened and endangered species. At both Midewin and Lost Mound, INHS has a prairie restoration ecologist and a grassland avian ecologist working with other federal and state personnel to develop and execute plans for restoration of the native ecosystems. In addition, INHS scientists are taking advantage of the unique opportunity that the sites present for research in prairie ecology.

At both sites, the avian ecologists are studying habitat selection and reproductive ecology of grassland and shrubland birds, especially Bell's vireos at Midewin and grasshopper sparrows and meadowlarks at Lost Mound. The plant ecologists are determining
Restoration ecologist Brenda Molano-Flores
examines hoary puccoon at Fults Hill Prairie,
Monroe County, Illinois.

the breeding systems of several prairie plants at Midewin, and at Lost Mound are studying succession in blowouts in the sand prairie and how it affects plant species that depend on disturbed areas for survival. Other projects at Midewin include a monitoring programs for plants and birds and a study of the effects of insect-eating birds on the prairie stream fish community. An experiment to investigate the effects of different restoration and management techniques on native and invasive vegetation and the associated animals is under way at Lost Mound. In addition, INHS staff at Midewin are working with the USFS to dedicate a portion of land specifically to research aimed at understanding restoration and management techniques. Research at both sites will contribute to improvement of prairie restoration and management efforts elsewhere.

Prescribed burn in an Illinois forest.

As in all restoration efforts, there are considerable challenges at Midewin and Lost Mound. Ecological challenges include controlling invasive species and reducing nitrogen loading from agricultural practices. The sites' military histories also create problems. Both have small, highly contaminated areas that will require intense efforts to make them safe for use. Outside of these small areas, low-level contamination restricts the type of work that can be done. At Midewin, a committee has been formed to deal with the contamination issue and insure the safety of the site. At Lost Mound, the Army recently banned all USFWS and IDNR employees from walking off of roads until a formal assessment of the risk of unexploded ordnance can be performed. This ban severely limits research and restoration, and because the risk assessment will not be completed for at least three years, IDNR and USFWS are negotiating with the Army to have the restriction lifted. The large size of both sites poses challenges to researchers and restorationists, but it also is what makes these sites so important and their potential so great. Despite the formidable challenges, we are proud to be working toward the goal of restoring prairie to the Prairie State.

INHS RESEARCH PROJECTS ON RESTORATION

*Analysis of reference wetlands in the American Bottoms for calibration of hydrogeomorphic wetland assessment model
A. Plocher, P. Tessene, D. Ketzner, D. Keene, M. Cooprider, S. Wiesbrook, M. Fiest, B. Wilm, R. Larimore, A. Admiraal, B. Zercher

*Degradation and restoration of Lake Michigan: past and future of nonindigenous species
D.W. Schneider, D. Lodge, R. Sparks, J.E. Marsden

*Social conflict, local knowledge, and the development of river ecology
D.W. Schneider

*Evaluation of watershed management practices for improving stream quality in the Illinois pilot watershed program
S.L. Kohler, D.H. Wahl, G.F. McIsaac