The Natural Land Institute is embarking on one of the most exciting protection and restoration initiatives in Illinois today. Few not-for-profit conservation organizations in the country are undertaking projects of the scope and scale of the 705-acre Carl and Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve. The Institute is conducting this project in a manner consistent with its 46-year mission of protecting natural areas and biodiversity.

This unique site will be a storehouse for local diversity of flora and fauna. The Natural Land Institute will reintroduce native, locally collected plant species from neighboring sites to establish crucial habitats and allow for the steady return of diverse animal species.

For more than 40 years, much of the Nygren Wetland was pastured for cattle and tilled for corn and soybean production.  Ditching, draining, berm building, and plowing reduced much of this once vast, historic wetland to fertile, arable farm ground. 

As a result, intense methods will be required to restore approximately 500 acres of the cultivated land to a vibrant, thriving, self-sustaining system. Extant natural communities will necessitate long-term stewardship and management to reverse serious degradation.

The Natural Land Institute has taken great care in assembling a dynamic team of experts in the field of restoration ecology to undertake and implement this landscape scale project. Applied Ecological Services of Brodhead, Wisconsin, one of the finest restoration consultant companies in the country, has developed the restoration plan in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Services. The Wetlands Initiative is also a key partner in organizing this effort. We are receiving valuable recommendations for guiding restoration from our volunteer Science Advisory Committee of local scientists and experts in ecology, botany, ornithology, and landscape planning.

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