Dayton Bluffs Preserve - Creating a New Natural Area
Mennonite Church of Normal, 805 S Cottage Ave, Normal, IL, 61761 Map
Live Stream Available
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
Note: This program will be presented both in-person and via livestream. A link to join the livestream will be available here closer to the presentation date.
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In 2013, The Conservation Foundation (in Naperville) purchased 253 acres of land north of Ottawa, IL on the east side of the Fox River. One hundred and fifty-three acres had been deemed high quality woodland in the 1999 INAI survey. The property has since been certified as a Land & Water Reserve by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and is known as Dayton Bluffs Preserve. A devoted corps of volunteers has cleared many acres of honeysuckle & buckthorn, helped maintain hiking trails, constructed a 100 acre tallgrass prairie and assisted with prescribed prairie and woodland burns. They have also recently created two small wetlands, planting over five thousand native species plugs. The diversity of habitats present on the property have made it popular with wildlife and human visitors. Volunteers at Dayton Bluffs Preserve near Ottawa, IL will introduce us to the history of the Preserve and many of the plant species found there.
Presenter Bios:
David Manigold started volunteering at the Dayton Bluffs Preserve before retiring from the practice of medicine. Over time he became certified as an Illinois Extension Master Naturalist and assumed the duties of Volunteer Coordinator. In that role he helps coordinate the workdays of volunteers who are involved in removal of invasive species; collection, processing and dispersal of native seed; development and maintenance of trails; and organizing prescribed burns. He has also coordinated the restoration of an abandoned pioneer cemetery on site.
Chris Woeltje has been an Illinois Extension Master Naturalist since 2024 but has been passionate about the natural world since he was a young boy. For a brief time, Chris worked at Pizzo Nursery as the nursery manager and his world opened to learning about native plants and ecological restoration. He became obsessed with the native plants in his area and wanted to recreate a prairie on his own property. Fast forward several years and Chris began volunteering at Dayton Bluffs Preserve. It was here that he began participating in multiple volunteer opportunities and was able to learn more about ecological restoration. Chris’ proudest accomplishments stem from being involved with The Conservation Foundation, where he was introduced to citizen science projects, like frog call surveys, plants of concern and acoustic bat monitoring.