PRESERVING NATURAL AREAS
for PEOPLE, for WILDLIFE,
FOREVER
in
EAST CENTRAL
ILLINOIS
Come to the Monarch Events Center in downtown Monticello for mid-winter family fun! The annual Mudpuppy Festival, 1 to 4 pm Saturday, Feb. 1, is a lively way to learn about the weird and wonderful mudpuppy salamander — and other wildlife and plants that LCF works to protect. Activities include kids' crafts and games, fishing for prizes, and a scavenger hunt! Food and drink will be available for purchase.
Our long summer drought left many freshwater mussels in the Sangamon River high and dry. On November 8, LCF volunteers came to the rescue at our newest property, Jasmine Hollow Land & Water Reserve. More than 300 lucky mussels were relocated to deeper waters. Photo by Melissa Records.
LCF is excited to have Eric Mollahan as its first full-time executive director. Most recently, Eric was lead ecologist for Integrated Lakes Management in northeastern Illinois, where his tasks ranged from ecological research to hands-on land restoration with chainsaws and skid steers. A UIUC graduate, Eric brings a broad range of experience and expertise with both land and aquatic ecosystems that make him well-suited to lead LCF.
LCF's newest property is 145 acres of primarily floodplain forest stretching along a mile of the Sangamon River in Piatt County, a generous gift from Mare and Jim Payne of Cerro Gordo. The Paynes say, “We have spent thousands of hours working to eradicate signs of overgrazing and invasives... with the goal to restore it to pre-settlement conditions. By placing this very special site in the capable and dedicated hands of the Land Conservation Foundation, we know our stewardship and our vision will continue. We are thrilled.”
Photo: Jasmine Hollow in early summer by Teresa DeWitt
In both a video and a detailed document, Tetra Tech, Inc, on behalf of Prosperity Wind, relates the history of the levees that give the Bruce Hannon Levee Trail its name. The documentation project resulted from an agreement between the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office and Prosperity Wind, related to its Piatt County wind project.
Learn what's so unusual about the mudpuppy salamander, and watch researches look for mudpuppies in the Sangamon River at Allerton Park. Mudpuppies have also been found in LCF's nearby Sangamon River Corridor Reserve. LCF's Mudpuppy Festival celebrates the mudpuppy, and all of the wonderful wildlife and natural lands that LCF is working to protect.
Photo by Alex Lourash.
LCF is delighted to announce that, in memory of devoted LCF volunteer Bob Feller, his wife, Theresa, has donated 20 acres to LCF. Feller Woods sits along the Sangamon River in Piatt County.
Follow a unique raised trail to the Sangamon River and our floodplain forest restoration. Visit the Sangamon River Corridor Reserve near Monticello.
LCF works to ensure a future with abundant clean water by focusing on rivers, wetlands, and groundwater.
All creatures who share our Illinois home benefit from LCF's work to connect and improve natural lands and waters.
LCF offers opportunities to encounter nature nearby, inspiring wonder and a future commitment to preservation.
Coyotes, mink, busy beavers, a bobcat, and a bunch of turkeys! They've all been caught on camera at our Sangamon River Corridor Reserve.