Gabriel Taylor | CLM Internship Program Blog

Field of *Asclepias incarnata* (Swamp Milkweed) and a freight in our dolomite prairie labeled as our Exxon site due to it being crammed between an Exxon refinery and intermodal train center

Logan and Naomi feeling Politically distraught on the Prairie ( PLANTS IN VIEW: *Monarda fistulosa, Ratibida pinnata, and Silphium terebinthinaceum*)

As I start to write this second blog post while sitting outside the office the Midewin ambience buzzes around me. Surrounding the main office is a cow pasture allotment ( One of the 50 or so lots we graze cattle on, for forest service profit), the cow pasture is an ecological refuge compared to the grotesque development encroaching the land adjacent to us. To the south, not far at all, I can sometimes get a whiff of Prairie View Landfill and the Exxon refinery to the north. Prairie View Landfill gives Illinois’ usually flat landscape some more intriguing topography, although it is probably not a fair trade for the smell of garbage. Surrounding Midewin is a plethora of warehouses, row crops (mostly corn and soy), suburban sprawl, parking lots, and industrial parks. I don’t mean to set the tone for pessimistic attitudes but I wanted to lay out the visual scene for people who are unfamiliar with Illinois and it’s unique approach to biosphere collapse. The prairie is rich with biodiversity and compared to the sterile conservative approach to landscaping and land management here in the Midwest, the prairie feels like a coral reef or an exotic land full of life.

Midwest storm rolling in over Prairie Glacial Plains

*Impatiens canadensis* ( Jewelweed/ Touch-Me-Not)

Exxon views from my daily commute to work, rare dolomite prairie on the other side

Living here all my life for 21 years I am astonished that is has taken me this long to truly experience the prairie, some residents here have never even seen one. The power struggle dynamics and lack of political will within the mission here can be quite saddening. I am glad a small number of people truly do put their heart and soul into the goal of bringing the prairie back. The integrity and strength to keep pushing for what’s right even when it seems like nobody understands what we are loosing and what we have already lost. It surprises me that a lot of people will know more about environmental issues across the world(Amazon rainforest) but they won’t be aware of any habitat loss of local ecosystems. Not to say we shouldn’t advocate for protection of land everywhere ( these things are not mutually exclusive) but I believe all ecosystems are equal in the grand scheme of things. The prairie and it’s hard working plants sequester tons of carbon and helps put organic matter back into the soil. How do we get people to care about native ecosystems if they haven’t even seen one in the first place? What type of incentives can we practice either personally or politically that would engage people in nature and ecology more? That being said I think even the people making insensitive decisions on the top of Exxon may not be complete demons, just confused, very very confused, human beings. I believe educating people, while remaining open and compassionate, is absolutely essential for restoration and native plant efforts. We can only move forward as much as we ALL move forward, and it’s hard not to get angry with the way things are and the lack of care from the general public. But I believe things will get better and people are increasingly more interested in learning when the opportunity presents itself.

I am very grateful for all the fellow CLM interns, it gives me comfort and restores some sanity knowing there are other people that feel passionate about native plants. Each one of the other interns is uniquely clever, intelligent, funny, and warm hearted and I couldn’t have asked for a better team:)

Female Clouded Sulphur (*Colias philodice)* on *Liatris spp.*

“Scrap” full of *Silphium terebinthinaceum* (PRAIRIE DOCK)

*Sagittaria brevirostra* Aka Midwestern Arrowhead

Trailing fuzzy bean (*Strophostyles helvola)*

Bumblebee on *Asclepias incarnata* (Swamp Milkweed)

Being at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie the past month has been a beautiful experience and I’m stoked to continue this journey. Growing up all my life only about 30 minutes north of here I was shocked that I had never heard about this place until just less than a couple of years ago. The prairie is such an intoxicating space of biodiversity and natural ecology running its course. The plethora of colors and smells as you walk through the ever growing tall matrix of forbs and grasses, most of which has been rapidly growing taller and taller within the last few hot summer weeks.

I am super grateful to have had this opportunity to put work into something truly rewarding for myself, others, and the environment. All across the world we deal with ecosystems struggling for stability due to development and agriculture. More recently within the last year, learning native plants has been an eye-opener. Driving down streets I used to think were beautiful due to the oceans of green around me now I see degradation and a lack of native vegetation, a heavy reminder of how severe this issue really is. Now I see areas that are graveyards of past fauna and flora of this land, truly realizing the scale of degradation of the natural ecosystem of my home state. Nonetheless, there is hope. Parts of Midewin serve as a sanctuary for what Illinois should look like, or will look like, providing habitat for a variety of plants and animals.

Touching the leaf of *Silphium terebinthinaceum* (Prairie Dock), the leaf feels cold to the touch due to the xylem plant tissue pumping cold water through the leaf, the tap root of this Silphium can grow longer than 14 feet deep!!

Midewin CLM Crew! Grateful to be working with passionate, dedicated, and knowledgeable native seed collectors.

*Opuntia cespitosa (*Eastern Pricklypear) growing on a area of exposed Dolomite bedrock, this rare unique ecosystem is called the Dolomite Prairie and it is home to some pretty special native plants

Even though most prairies in Illinois deal a lot with invasive species it in turn causes native plants to be precious gemstones of the prairie. We have to be grateful for what we have left and look forward to the future of protecting these plants and natural areas and spreading the scientific ecological message through compassion and understanding. Midewin is unique in the sense of conservation due to most of the project being a complete reconstruction. It is true there are remnant “ scraps” ( Soil tilled over and moved) that contain a native seed bank. But for the most part Midewin is a restoration project, so most of the native plants there have been seeded in since the late 90s.

*Platanthera leucophaea* (Prairie White Fringed Orchid)

*Silphium* *laciniatum* (Compass Plant) and *Eryngium yuccifolium* (Rattlesnake Master)

Midewin was home to pre colonial indigenous tribes, then it was plowed when settlers moved westward. Then in the 1940s the government bought out all the property and made it the Joliet Arsenal which was active up until the end of the Vietnam war. Midewin land has had so many lives run their course in its presence and I think the land carries all of this with it both physically and metaphorically. In Illinois less than 0.01% of the original 21 million acres of prairie remains, less than 2,300 acres. On the bright side, since 1996 Midewin members of the forest service, partner organizations and volunteer groups have been able to restore roughly 6,000 acres of native vegetation, this includes tall grass prairies, sedge meadows, a variety of wetlands, a sand ridge, and oak savannas. It is such a satisfying feeling going into work for the day knowing what you are doing is making a positive impact outside of a profit incentive. I understand that the prairie and wetlands here are not going to look like they did 400 years ago but I think restoration is truly a positive step in the right direction with the right planning and ecological intentions, always asking questions and having awareness of the long term effect of influencing the natural world.