Boloria Meadows, Bull Valley
Today, it is a challenge to find undiscovered natural areas tucked away behind the curtains of invasive brush and trees found along so many of our roadways. But these natural treasures do exist, and this is one such place. Named after the genus of silver-bordered Fritillary butterfly, Boloria Meadows has winding nature trails that lead through high quality prairie, sedge meadow and oak woodland ecosystems that abound with seasonal wildflower displays.
This site will be closed periodically for hunting from October through January
Concannon Conservation Area, Woodstock
Little pockets of natural habitat nestled within our cities and towns provide great benefits to small creatures like birds, butterflies and frogs. Concannon Conservation Area is only two acres, but it is part of a ribbon of greenway that winds through Woodstock. A short, wood-chipped trail circles a vernal pool and offers a peaceful place to sit on a bench or go salamander hunting. A small sign marks the entrance to the trail.
Crowley Oaks, Harvard
Dappled sunlight hits the woodland floor amongst the large oaks and hickories at Crowley Oaks. The property includes remnant oak woods, a headwater stream for one of Chicagoland’s highest quality waterways (Piscasaw Creek) and about 14 acres of sedge meadow and wet prairie habitat.
The site includes nearly 50 acres of white oaks, bur oaks and hickories that are over 200 years old. Crowley is part of a larger oak woodland that is nearly 200 acres, making it one of the largest remaining in the county.
The land adjoins two TLC-protected properties, a 13.5-acre conservation easement and a 6.7 acre natural area, allowing for connectivity of native habitats.
Gateway Park, Harvard
When TLC acquired this site we discovered a true gem: the county’s largest White Oak, with oak limbs sprawling and reaching for the abundant sunlight. In the buckthorn-free woodland and wetland, birds such as the indigo bunting and swamp sparrow thrive.
Hennen Conservation Area, Woodstock
Phyllis and Tony Hennen acquired this land in the early 1970s, planting thousands of native hardwood seedlings in land that once was farmland. They donated the land to the city of Woodstock as a public park, and TLC moved its offices to the farmhouse. Over decades, the land has transformed into a wild and natural place where trails lead you through a sea of wildflowers and groves of trees.
Irish Oaks Nature Preserve, Harvard
Irish Oaks is a vast 40-acre wetland and oak savanna complex that has been preserved outside of Harvard. In 2021 Irish Oaks was dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve. This site was listed by the Illinois Natural Area Inventory as the best remaining example of a dry-mesic oak savanna, and now it is being maintained and preserved forever! Giant white oaks and bur oaks dapple the landscape while prairie and shrub thickets fill in the spaces between the trees. Historic grazing and recent growth of invasive shrubs have degraded the native wildflowers and grasses, but our workdays will help the native plants that are hanging on like ferns, club mosses, and orchids! This site is clearly visible from the metra train track between Harvard and Woodstock.
Wolf Oak Woods, Bull Valley
Wolf Oak Woods is named after the Wolf Oak – a large, open-grown bur oak with limbs that spread out and, overcome with their own weight, swoop down to touch the ground and grow back up again. The Wolf Oak tree, clearly visible from a major highway in the county, has become a cultural icon and ecological relic. Beyond this tree, the preserve includes 30 more acres of ecologically intact wetland and oak woodland. Volunteers have been clearing this site at Wednesday morning workdays to free up more sunlight for the carpet of spring ephemerals and wildflowers, such as Dutchman’s Breeches and Shooting Star. A prairie has also been planted near the Wolf Oak to create beneficial habitat for our pollinators.
Yonder Prairie, Woodstock
Prior to the purchase of this land, it was deemed the highest quality unprotected natural area in the county. Walking through this site you’ll pass by pockets of remnant wet prairie- areas that rarely have standing water but the soil is saturated and moist most of the year. The adjacent oak savannas and woodlands are transforming from a wall of buckthorn into native habitat for our birds, mammals and pollinators.