College of DuPage offers prairie tours

Tours of the Russell Kirt Prairie at College of DuPage will be available this summer from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, June 15, July 6 and Aug. 24.

Participants will learn about the wildlife, natural processes and to identify some of the more than 100 species of native Illinois plants found throughout the 18-acre prairie preserve as they take a guided walk through the college's prairie restorations.

For directions or more information about the free summer tours, contact Professor of Biology Lynda Randa at randa@cod.edu.

First planted in 1985, Kirt Prairie was reconstructed on clay and gravel excavated for the construction of the Student Resource Center and covered with a thin layer of imported topsoil that enabled seed spreading and planting.

The area comprises roughly six acres of marsh, a one-acre retention pond, 11 acres of reconstructed prairie and savanna, and a quarter-mile of seed production beds. Over a half-mile of trails, including a one-sixth-mile wheelchair accessible stretch, allow easy access for nonconsumptive recreational use.

A glimpse of the time when tallgrass prairie still existed plentifully in the area, the college's prairie areas serve as an outdoor classroom in the biological sciences, enabling students an opportunity to gain real-world experience in field-based research.

The Glen Ellyn campus is also home to the B.J. Hoddinott Wildlife Sanctuary, the oldest restoration area, which includes a nine-acre marsh and wetland area dedicated in 1983, as well as a 15-acre Ecological Study Area comprising three acres of marsh, four acres of successional woodland and eight acres of reconstructed prairie. The Ecological Study area also includes more than a half-mile of trails available for nonconsumptive recreational use.

The college's prairies feature nearly 300 species of native tallgrass plants, more than 80 of which were reintroduced over the years. In addition, the area also hosts a variety of wildlife, including many species of insects, toads, frogs, turtles, small mammals, coyotes and birds such as warblers, wading birds, owls and hawks.

Before the arrival of settlers in the early 1800s, Illinois included a diverse range of ecosystems, including deciduous forests, savannas, wetlands and tallgrass prairies.

The Illinois prairies were part of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem that once covered about 170 million acres from Canada to Texas and Nebraska to the Great Lakes. At that time, out of roughly 37 million acres in Illinois, 22 million comprised tallgrass prairie.

Between 1850 and 1910, agricultural development, population growth and urbanization rapidly destroyed vast acres of prairie. While Illinois is still unofficially known as the "Prairie State," less than 0.01 percent of the 22 million acres of prairies remain intact.

The tallgrass prairie supported abundant wildlife including bison, elk, wolves, black bears, and hundreds of species of birds. Because of the loss of habitat, many species of prairie plants and animals have either disappeared or are in rapid decline.