Last November, Cook County Board President Bobbie Steele lifted a moratorium on land management activities that had been imposed by her predecessor, John Stroger, at the five Forest Preserve District sites south of Dempster. In preparation for resuming management, the District distributed information about the goals, purposes and techniques of habitat restoration to all households within a quarter-mile radius of these preserves. Two glorious workdays took place in March to begin removing brush that had overgrown the oak savanna, choking the sun-loving wildflowers that grow here.

During the 10 year restriction on management activities, all management was stopped for several years.  Then volunteers were eventually allowed to pull such weeds as garlic mustard. But the greater threat, particularly to the savanna, was the excessive growth of woody brush, including buckthorn but also green ash saplings, dogwood and several other species that are native to the region but which become invasive in savannas that aren’t burned often enough, normally every few years.

In January of 2003, a Forest Preserve District Ecologist did a study of the woody vegetation – shrubs, small saplings and saplings – in the 6 ½ acre savanna area. Based on the data, there were an estimated total 890,000 woody stems, almost ten times the 90,000 stems pre-moratorium.

These are some conclusions to be found in the District’s study: “The original, indigenous ground layer plants are overwhelmingly adapted to open or mostly open structural conditions…  Allowing Bunker Hill Savanna to develop into a green ash dominated area will result in the elimination of 128 native, remnant species – 75% of the existing flora… If nothing whatsoever is done, then one of the most diverse assemblages of native plants will become lost to Cook County.“

While those numbers are staggering, it’s also compelling to think about some of the actual species that would be lost without stewardship: several kinds of orchids, wildflowers such as Sand Violet, Turk’s Cap Lily, Bottle Gentian and Marsh Blazing Star, and many beautiful native grasses. As these natives disappear, so will the insects that depend on them for food, and then the birds that eat the insects, and on and on. As John Muir wisely observed, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

So it is that the North Branch volunteers celebrate the chance to once again help the District care for Bunker Hill and the plants and animals that find their home there. This beautiful preserve is just one example of the rich diversity that once was the vast Illinois landscape. It richly deserves our commitment and stewardship.

Directions: West side of Caldwell between Devon and Touhy; entrance located just opposite Tonty Street. For Bunker Hill Meet in first section of parking lot; for Oxbow, follow road until it turns north, then park along the west side.

For more information or to volunteer contact:
Jane and John Balaban  847-679-4289 

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