Forest Service Chief Visits Midewin for National Public Lands Day!

By Leah Anderson on Sep 9, 2010

Forest Service Chief TomTidwell visited the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie to participate in their NLPD event.

September 25, 2010, was a special day for Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie employees and volunteers who participated in the Prairie's National Public Lands Day (NPLD) event. They were treated to a visit from Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, who chose to visit Midewin from more than 80 Forest Service NLPD events across the nation. The Prairie is located in Wilmington, Illinois about 60 miles southwest of Chicago.

Over 80 volunteers, 46 employees, and 14 Prairie partners attended NPLD, which was organized by volunteer coordinators of The Nature Conservancy stationed at Midewin. Volunteers had the option of working on four different projects or taking a guided tour of Midewin.

Activities included:

* River Road Native Seed Production Area Project: Volunteers picked an estimated 500 pounds (raw weight) of seeds from eleven species of prairie plants growing in Midewin's native prairie plant seed-beds, including rattlesnake master and showy trick-trefoil. In addition, over 1,600 plants from six different species, including morning star sedge and flat-top aster, were planted in the wetland seedbeds. Midewin has more than six linear miles of seedbeds that provide seed for prairie restoration efforts.

* Trail Bridge Construction Project: A crew of Midewin's experienced bridge builder volunteers constructed a new fiberglass bridge along the South Patrol Road section of the West Side Trail. The bridge will be part of a five-mile trail connecting two major public access points to Midewin. Approximately three miles of this multiple-use trail have already been completed.

* Middle Grant Creek Erosion Control Sandbag Project: A small group of volunteers filled sandbags and arranged them to form a plastic-lined barrier around a culvert to improve soil and water quality, while retaining water within restored wetlands for longer periods. Previous habitat restoration activities in the Middle Grant Creek area include filling drainage ditches and disabling drainage tiles, and planting native vegetation.

* Moses Morgan Historic Farmstead Cleanup: Several of Midewin's dedicated heritage volunteers removed aggressively growing non-native vegetation from the historic Moses Morgan Farmstead. Removing invasive plants will improve public access to the site and protect the building foundations and artifacts in the area, as well as prepare the area for reintroduction of native woodland plants. The farmstead was occupied from approximately 1848 to 1940; it is a "Priority Heritage Asset "and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

* Midewin Guided Tour: This hour and a half tour consisted of visiting a number of projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and observing landscape conditions before and after the work being done.

After a long morning of volunteering, participants were treated to lunch by the Midewin Alliance and an inspiring speech by Chief Tidwell. The Chief reflected on an early experience in his Forest Service career, stating that helping collect seed from the River Road Native Seed Production Area reminded him of working with a young Adult Conservation Corps Crew years ago collecting seeds from plants growing in a highway median strip in the western U.S. Chief Tidwell praised Prairie employees for the excellent and numerous partnership they have nourished over time, and emphasized how necessary partners are to accomplish the many goals of the Forest Service. He also noted that over time, and because of places like Midewin, there is an increased understanding of the importance of our national natural resources in providing wildlife habitat, clean air and water, recreation opportunities, and places for youth to connect with the outdoors, as well as mitigating climate change.

It was a great day for the Prairie and public lands throughout the nation!