Grand Prairie Friends, a Coles County Conservation Organization (based out of Urbana, Illinois,) has been awarded $85,803 through the ‘Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant Program,’ which is run by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The funding can be put towards paid staff time, equipment, and supplies needed to carry out tasks like prescribed fires and invasive species control across several protected sites in our area.
The work will then likely take place across six of their “Land and Water Reserves” and one “Nature Preserve,” those being: Embarras Ridges, Warbler Woods North, Warbler Woods, Warbler Bottoms North, Warbler Bluff, and Warbler Landing. These sites make up some of the most environmentally protected land in Coles County, and keeping them healthy requires active management to prevent invasive species from taking over and to maintain the natural fire cycles that native ecosystems depend on. Yes, when Illinois was known more for being a “prairie,” fires would have been a regular occurrence… so emulating that is essential, if not necessary.
Grand Prairie Friend’s grant award is part of a broader $697,816 awards package distributed to 14 ‘land trusts’ across Illinois. Since the program began in 2001, more than $4.3 million has been given statewide to support conservation work including invasive species control, prescribed burns, natural community restoration, and more. This year alone, up to $482,000 has been awarded to Grand Prairie Friends through the “Prairie State Conservation Coalition” with the funds potentially being used for future land purchases. Keep the money coming!
