OutdoorIllinois January 2007
UpFront
In order to effectively
preserve and man-age
Illinois’ natural
landscape, the
Department of Nat-ural
Resources (DNR)
and its conservation part-ners
must know what fea-tures
are significant,
where those features are
located, and plot a course
for their protection.
Almost three decades
ago, Illinois embarked on
a project that set a national prece-dent—
a statewide inventory of our
remaining natural landscape called the
Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI).
This was the first step in creating an
organized way to identify, preserve and
protect Illinois’ natural heritage for
future generations.
The Illinois Natural Areas Inventory
provides information about high-quality
natural areas, habitats and other signifi-cant
natural features throughout the state.
Information from the INAI is used to guide
and support land acquisition, protection
and stewardship programs by all levels of
government, as well as private landown-ers
and conservation organizations.
Thanks to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich
and the Illinois General Assembly, DNR
received $2 million for the
first year of an expected
three-year project to update
the inventory. This project will
thoroughly and systematical-ly
screen the state to find,
describe, evaluate and clas-sify
natural areas and impor-tant
habitats. New technolo-gies
and criteria will allow the
INAI Update to identify natur-al
areas of statewide signifi-cance,
as well as sites of
local significance which may
be important to forest preserve districts,
local conservation organizations and
other local units of government.
The Illinois Natural Areas Inventory
provides numerous services to the
DNR, federal agencies, local units of
government and conservation partners
statewide including:
n Helps set priorities for land acquisi-tion
and protection programs by state
agencies, local units of government and
nonprofit organizations.
n By law, serves as key criteria for
state-funded grant programs such as
the Open Space Lands Acquisition and
Development program and Conserva-tion
2000.
n Serves as a foundation for policies
and practices of the Illinois Nature Pre-serves
Commission, which provides
legal protection for natural areas whose
landowners desire it.
n Provides information for public and
private landowners about how to protect
and manage natural areas.
The past quarter-century has seen
an increase in the capacity to protect
natural areas and important habitats in
Illinois at both state and local levels. The
INAI needs to meet the increased abili-ties
and interests by permitting efforts to
be focused on the “best of the best.”
Recent advances in conservation sci-ence,
new computing resources and
improved survey methods will be incor-porated
to bring the INAI up to date sci-entifically
and technologically.
Planning for the future of Illinois’ nat-ural
resources is at the heart of our pro-grams.
Making decisions based on the
best and most current information avail-able
is critical to meet our obligations to
the public and in the public trust. An
updated Illinois Natural Areas Inventory
will allow DNR and its conservation
partners to do just that.
Once again, Illinois will set a national
example.
Illinois Natural Areas Inventory Update
VOLUME XV, NUMBER 1
OUTDOOR ILLINOIS (USPS 0978-720) is published
monthly by the Department of Natural Resources, Office
of Public Services, One Natural Resources Way, Spring-field,
IL 62702-1271, phone (217) 782-7454, email
dnr.editor@illinois.gov.
(Publication number: ISSN 1072-7175)
Periodical Postage Paid at Springfield, IL
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to OUTDOOR
ILLINOIS, Department of Natural Resources, Dept. NL,
One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271.
Rod R. Blagojevich Governor
Sam Flood Acting Director
Leslie Sgro Deputy Director
Deborah C. Stone Deputy Director
STAFF: Kristin DiCenso, office director; Kathy Andrews,
editor; Joe McFarland, staff writer; Adele Hodde, chief
photographer; Charles J. Copley, design & layout; Tim
W. Gosteli, graphics support; Ronda Brown, production
coordinator; Holli Cole, circulation; Joe Bauer,
marketing.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Internet Address: www.dnr.state.il.us
Copyright 2006 Illinois Department of Natural
Resources. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole
or part is prohibited without the written permission
of the publisher.
Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illi-nois
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those
funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other
agencies is available to all individuals regardless of race,
sex, national origin, disability, age, religion or other non-merit
factors. If you believe you have been discriminated
against, contact the funding source’s civil rights office
and/or the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, DNR,
One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271;
217/785-0067; TTY 217/782-9175.
All public meetings conducted by the Department of
Natural Resources will be accessible to handicapped
individuals in compliance with Executive Order No. 5
and pertinent state and federal laws, upon notification of
the anticipated attendance. Handicapped persons plan-ning
to attend and needing special accommodations
should inform the Department of Natural Resources at
least five days prior to the meeting by telephoning or
writing the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer,
Department of Natural Resources, One Natural
Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271, phone
(217) 785-0067.
Department of Natural Resources information is avail-able
to the hearing impaired by calling DNR’s Telecommu-nications
Device for the Deaf (217) 782-9175.
The mission of the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources is to manage, protect and sustain Illinois’ nat-ural
and cultural resources; provide resource-compatible
recreational opportunities; and promote natural
resource-related public safety, education, and science.
Printed by the Authority of
the State of Illinois
PRT3400804–27,274–12/06
Illinois Department of
Natural Resources
Printed on recycled and
recyclable paper with soy-based ink.
Illinois
Department of
Natural
Resources
What’sInside
2-21
Illinois Endangered and Threatened Species
Learn about some of the rarest plants and animals in Illinois and
discover what is being done to protect them.
22-27
Remnant, Rare Habitats
Illinois is an ecologically diverse state containing habitats that may
surprise you.
On the Covers
A profile of the Illinois-endangered barn owl (Tyto alba) hints of its
nickname of the “heart-faced” owl. Back cover: 1. great plains rat
snake (Elaphe guttata emoryi); 2. Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides
melissa samuelis); 3. peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus); 4. pitcher
plant (Sarracenia purpurea); 5. Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Soma-tochlora
hineana); 6. royal catchfly (Silene regia); 7. cave amphipod
(Gammarus acherondytes); 8. fanshell (Cyprogenia stegaria);
9. Indiana crayfish (Orconectes indianensis); 10. eastern wood rat
(Neotoma floridana); 11. four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scu-tatum);
12. greater redhorse (Moxostoma valenciennesi); 13. mush-room
(Volvariella bombycina); 14. eastern narrowmouth toad (Gas-trophryne
carolinensis); 15. river cooter (Pseudemys concinna).
Photo credits: Cover and Nos. 1-6 by Carol Freeman; No. 7 by Frank Wilhelm;
No. 8 by Kevin Cummings; No. 9, 11, 14, 15 by Michael Redmer; No. 10 by Joe
McFarland; No. 12 by Konrad Schmidt; No. 13 by Andrew S. Methven.
1 2
6
3
9 10 11
14 15
12
13
4
7
5
8
This Special Edition
of OutdoorIllinois
is dedicated to
Carl N. Becker
In the spring of 1978, the Illinois
Endangered Species Protection
Board hired a young biologist
from Wisconsin to be the board’s
first executive director. Carl Beck-er
was not a known entity at the
time, but this was soon to
change. One of his first tasks
was to develop the first Illinois
List of Endangered and Threat-ened
Species. He did this by
working with many diverse
groups of biologists, academians
and conservation groups. The list
consisted of 436 species and
was as diverse as the man who
organized it. This was the first of
many outstanding accomplish-ments
Carl Becker’s leadership
would spearhead. His abrupt
passing last spring only short-ened
a stellar career that gave a
voice to protecting the rare
resources that could not speak.
January 2007 OutdoorIllinois
(Photo by Randy Nÿboer.)
