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.