Aug 1, 2024
What can you explore in the Ozark Natural Division of Illinois? A sinkhole plain, cool caves, mature forests, towering bluffs and hill prairies. Read on as we explore this biological and geological wonderland.
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Circling, soaring, and gliding high over the landscape, turkey vultures are using their sight and a keen sense of smell to locate carrion. Be warned about the personal defenses of vultures, especially close to their nests or under roosts. Their regurgitated, partially digested carrion is not pleasant if you are targeted, because they are known to feast on dead skunks.
MoreAug 1, 2024
At the mention of ‘pasture’ your mind’s eye likely visualizes a tranquil grassland complete with cattle grazing on lush grasses. But focusing on the vegetation you might be surprised to learn that much more is taking place. On Illinois Department of Natural Resources sites throughout the state, conservation agriculture practices are utilized to benefit wildlife populations and their habitats.
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We’ve come a long way from the days when Illinois was one-third forest and two-thirds prairie. Land in corn and soybeans provide waste grain as a food source for wildlife if fall tillage is limited. However, fall tilled row crop fields are the major source of soil erosion and nutrient and pesticide runoff. Planting cover crops can help.
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One Lake County homeowner was partly inspired to convert her 1.2-acre yard into one brimming with native plants by visiting natural areas. She has gradually come to feel that she is a steward of the land and is proud that she can contribute to the ecological health of the land and of the flora and the fauna living there. Take a virtual tour of this landscape and learn how anyone, no matter the size of their yard is, can create a colorful and beneficial landscape.
MoreAug 1, 2024
Within the Ozark Natural Division in Illinois lies a karst region, a terrain formed by the action of water, with an acidic property, in the dissolution of limestone or other carbonate bedrock layers. Within the post-oak barrens, restored prairies, sinkholes and caves of the region, unique wild creatures go about their lives partaking partly of each, the surface and subsurface.
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Native bees have evolved alongside the local flora and fauna, creating mutually beneficial relationships with native plants and maintaining biodiversity. As they pollinate plants, they help propagate a wide range of species, from trees and shrubs to wildflowers and grasses. This, in turn, supports birds, butterflies and mammals which depend on these plants for food and habitat. Researchers are now working to understand the diverse assemblage of native bees that rely on Illinois wetland communities.
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Having watched countless seasons unfold in her backyard, author Carla Rich Montez realizes that nature’s daily affairs have escaped her notice. Read what she discovers when she takes the time to really see her wild neighbors.
MoreAug 1, 2024
Illinois is home to 13 resident bat species. Many of these species are coping with the loss of habitat and are vulnerable to collisions with wind turbines and/or white-nose syndrome. To protect our bat populations, it is imperative we understand which habitats are vital for our bat populations, so that conservation efforts can be more effectively focused on their protection.
MoreAug 1, 2024
A Sand County Almanac is both enlightening and muddling. Sometimes in wonderfully descriptive words, Leopold recounts observations made while at his land, “sand farm,” in Wisconsin. There will be passages in Leopold’s writings which will reveal to us our own lack of knowledge. But, let us remember that ignorance is important, essential to learning!
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A message from Chief Mike Wefer
Welcome to the August 2024 edition of the online magazine OutdoorIllinois Journal, featuring timely, seasonally based stories about the Prairie State’s wildlife resources, with an expansion of content to include a broader range of subjects—including endangered and threatened species and Illinois’ unique, high-quality habitats and the people working to preserve, protect and manage these resources.
