Friends of Nachusa Grasslands
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History of Nachusa Grasslands

2016
Picture
Nachusa Grasslands turned 30 years old in 2016! What started as a bold vision has become real. One day, sometime in the decade of the 1970s, a whistling call of the upland sandpiper made prairie enthusiasts Dot and Doug Wade pull their car over to have a look in those pastures we now call Nachusa Grasslands. They saw heavily grazed pasture, but the plants being grazed were prairie. As they got to know the landscape, they found seeps, springs, sedge meadows, a fen, and oak savannas. The Wades eventually met up with Tim Keller of Sterling, and, together, they pitched the wonders of what is now Nachusa Grasslands. During the same decade, the ecologists of the Illinois Natural Area Inventory carefully described and mapped several of those same remnants.
 
The Conservancy's 1985 Board of Trustees, chaired by Charlie Haffner, wanted to attempt something big, somewhere. In 1985, Conservancy staff Steve Packard and Paul Dye attended a large meeting of Illinois conservationists. The question of the day was: Should conservation put some of its resources into larger landscapes that were grade C in quality, but had areas big enough for animals to prosper and ecological processes to function? Or should we work only on the smaller high quality sites? There was heated debate, since there were no large-scale restorations to suggest a bigger site could be restored.
 
One area circled on the map that day that the participants could agree on for a potential project, was right here at Nachusa. Why here? Because there remained extensive prairies, woodlands and wetlands. The Conservancy staff returned back to their office with a mission.

Picture30th Anniversary Homecoming Speakers – Mike Saxton, Bill Kleiman, Ralph Burnett, Stephen Packard, Mary Vieregg, and Heather Marshall
In 1985, 850 acres, broken up into small tracts in the heart of what is now Nachusa Grasslands, were up for sale with roads named after prairie plants. The Illinois Department of Conservation was interested in the mapped sites of the Natural Areas Inventory. The legendary George Fell of the Natural Land Institute was helpful in a number of ways to make the deals move forward. On August 26, 1986, the Conservancy purchased 130 acres.

An auction was scheduled for October 2, 1986. Conservancy staff was hustling to line up the organization to make the auction. Money was needed. George Fell and John Santucci, a new Conservancy trustee, wrote checks to secure a place at the auction. The bidding started and the Conservancy's Ralph Burnett remembers buying all the tracts that were available, 267 acres. We closed on those auction tracts on December 17. As 1986 ended, the Conservancy owned 397 acres, and Nachusa Grasslands was started.

Thirty-three years later, the project is still thriving, growing, and learning. Volunteers still contribute the biggest part of work done on the 3,800-acre preserve. Donors continue to empower us to protect and restore land. The people involved with this project over the years are proud of what they started. Those working here today show that same pride and love of this landscape.
                                                                                       By Bill Kleiman

Detailed Nachusa Site History
by Crosby, Cindy L, et al. “Nachusa Grasslands Interpretive Master Plan.” University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 2014.

Nachusa's Headquarters Barn

In 1999, our headquarters barn was restored from an 1868 timber framed barn that was moved to Nachusa from Ashton, Illinois.  The barn has three levels – a seed processing and storage area, lunch/meeting room, office, loft, garage, and workshop.  We have four permanent staff members, a hired summer crew, and a dedicated group of volunteers who use the barn facilities.  Volunteer workdays gather here on Saturday mornings, and meals and special events take place year-round.
​UPDATED 05/2025

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8772 S. Lowden Road  (mailing address)            
2075 Lowden Road (Visitor Center)           
Franklin Grove, IL 61031

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© 2025 FRIENDS OF NACHUSA GRASSLANDS The content on this website is owned by us and our licensors. Do not copy any content (including images) without our consent.
  • Home
  • About Friends
    • Mission, Leadership, Objectives, and Financials
    • Friends Annual Meeting 2024
    • Endowments
    • Heritage Heroes Initiative
    • Friends Annual Reports
    • Newsletters >
      • PrairiE–Update (email)
      • A Prairie Calling (print and digital)
    • Commenting Policy
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours & Parking
    • Directions and Map
    • Visitor Center
    • Pet Policy
    • Public Bison Tours
    • Bison Viewing
    • Hiking >
      • Hiking Guidelines
      • Hiking Destinations
      • Guided Hikes
      • Stone Barn Savanna Tour
      • Visitor Center Trail
      • Scavenger Hunt
    • Autumn on the Prairie >
      • Yearly Festival
    • What's In Bloom?
    • Exploring Nachusa Grasslands on Your Own
    • Things to Do
    • Places to Eat and Stay
    • Local Sites to Visit and Explore
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Thursday and Saturday Workdays >
      • Workday Signup
      • Workdays – November to February
      • Volunteer Workday Safety Protocols
      • Leader Workday Safety Protocols
      • Steward Workday Tips
    • Workday Email List
    • Volunteer Recognition
    • Docents
  • Stewardship
    • Nachusa Stewardship
    • Restorations
    • Planting Histories >
      • Stewardship Unit Planting Histories
      • Planting Histories in Chronological Order
    • Weed Reports
    • Native plant resources
    • Volunteer Stewards
    • Groups and Committees
    • Available Units
    • Controlled Burns
    • Prescribed Fire Recruitment
    • Restoration Publications
    • Stewardship Resources >
      • Seed Collection Guides
      • Invasive Plant Management
      • Invasive Identification
      • Monitoring
      • Resource Links
  • Science
    • Science at Nachusa Grasslands
    • Science Symposium 2025
    • 2025 Science Symposium Abstracts
    • Science Grants >
      • Science Grants 2025
      • Science Grants 2021 to 2024 >
        • Science Grants 2024
        • Science Grants 2023
        • Science Grants 2022
        • Science Grants 2021
      • Science Grants 2016 to 2020 >
        • Science Grants 2020
        • Science Grants 2019
        • Science Grants 2018
        • Science Grants 2017
        • Science Grants 2016
      • Science Grants 2011 to 2015 >
        • Science Grants 2015
        • Science Grants 2014
        • Science Grants 2013/2012/2011
    • Potential Research Topics
    • Scientific Publications
    • Anderson Science Award
    • Science Videos
    • Become a Community Scientist >
      • About Community Scientists
      • Butterfly Monitoring
      • Calling Frog Monitoring
      • Dragonflies & Damselflies
      • RiverWatch
  • About Nachusa
    • General Info
    • Nachusa Staff
    • Prairie Smoke Annual Reports
    • Plant Inventory >
      • Common Names
      • Genus Species
    • Animal Inventory >
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Bison Bison >
        • Bison
        • Bison Babies Broadcast Videos
      • Fish
      • Insects
      • Mammals
      • Other Arthropods
      • Reptiles
    • History
    • Jobs
    • Hunting
    • Geology >
      • Geology Part 1
      • Geology Part 2
      • Geology Part 3
    • Websites of Interest
  • Teacher Resources
    • K-2nd grades
    • 3rd-5th grades
    • 6th-8th grades
    • High School
  • BLOG AND MEDIA
    • Nachusa Blog
    • In The News
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Spring Photos
      • Summer Photos
      • Autumn Photos
      • Winter Photos
    • Videos
  • Contact Us / FAQs