Oxbow Springs

Address: 15197 Telegraph Rd., Pecatonica, IL 61063
128.011 acres
Acquired by the Natural Land Institute (NLI) December 30, 2024

Open to the public daily, sunrise to sunset. Walking, snowshoeing and skiing allowed. Unauthorized motor vehicles and bicycles are not allowed.

This is a pet free preserve.

Robert and Beverly Beebe Nature Trail
The Robert and Beverly Beebe Nature Trail is approximately 2 miles long trail beginning at the public parking off Telegraph Road with a loop around the core of the preserve. The trail follows old farm lanes and also provides stewardship access to the property so that the land can be restored and maintained as private conservation land in perpetuity.

Doty Creek
This spring fed creek flows into the property from the southeast and empties into the Pecatonica River in the preserve. The stream is spring fed and flows through a large slough upstream that was first delineated in the original land survey of Pecatonica Township in 1843. The creek is named after the Doty family who settled this area (in 1840’s) and were the long-time owners of this preserve. The Patriarch of the family, Edward Doty, came to America on the Mayflower. The dominant tree along the creek is Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) while the dominant grass is Rice Cutgrass (Oryzopsis ) with Virginia Wildrye (Elymus virginicus) abundant on the terraces.

Donald & Verna Peterson Spring and cattle trough
A large spring emerges here and it also feeds a mossy, concrete trough used for cattle to drink long ago when the property was pastured. Family and neighborhood kids also drank directly from this spring! The water never freezes in winter and a healthy population of watercress (Nasturtium officinale) thrives and remains green year-round. The spring draws all sorts of wildlife to drink and bathe, especially popular as a spot for migrating songbirds.

Relic Corn Crib Shed and side path to Springs Oxbow
Corn was first picked as “corn on the cob” and stored in open cribs like this relic structure. Today’s technology allows corn pickers that “shell” the corn (separating the kernels from the cob) and it is stored in covered bins. The wetland below is part of Doty Creek but long ago this section was a meander of the Pecatonica River. When the river changed its course, this old channel remained what is called an oxbow wetland. A round spring also occurs at this location and is quite apparent when the water is low but is flooded in times of high water. This wetland is named to honor the dedication and work of NLI’s volunteers by an anonymous donor.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) ground
The open land here was formerly designated CRP where government monies provided for keeping this flood prone and erodible land out of production and designated for conservation. The CRP was last maintained in 2023 and the current plan for the land is to reforest it. The 1843 original land survey of this area was shown as forested. Forested lands on the original land survey were very different than today with much fewer trees and a much more open character. Frequent fires set by Native Americans, and keystone species as bison, elk and beaver helped maintain the more open nature of the woodland.

George and Nancy Maze Historic Oxbow Slough
This wetland was first delineated on the 1843 original land survey and it is an old oxbow of the Pecatonica River. It is shaped like a horseshoe or oxbow (the wooden frame used as a neck collar to help control the ox). The wetland is a celebration of native plants, especially notable are the lack of invasive plants like hybrid cattail and Phragmites grass that infest so many local wetlands. The wetland is an important stopover place for waterfowl and other water birds. The oxbow is named to honor donor Nancy Maze and her late husband George who were longtime friends of NLI’s founders George and Barbara Fell.

Ray and Char Ferguson Bluebell Woodland
This woodland lies on a terrace of the river floodplain so that it rarely floods yet stays moist: the habitat is known as Mesic Floodplain Forest (mesic=medium, neither wet or dry) and is the favored habitat for many of our beloved spring wildflowers. This particular woodland is carpeted with Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in spring along with other woodland wildflowers including Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum) and Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus). Most of these wild flowers are spring ephemerals, emerging and blooming early before the trees leaf out and rob them of sunshine. They set seed and dieback by midsummer’s dense shade.

Great River Bulrush Marsh
River Bulrush (Bolboschoenus fluviatilis formerly Scirpus fluviatilis) is a robust perennial that thrives in shallow waters of wetlands along rivers. This type of wetland, dominated by perennials is known as a marsh and is another old Pecatonica River oxbow. Over a long period of time as it continues to fill, the marsh will eventually become woodland. This habitat is a favorite of marsh birds known as rails, birds that walk through wetlands and rarely fly, they have flattened bodies to maneuver between the stalks. Three species of rails are regularly seen in the vicinity including the Sora, Virginia Rail and State Endangered King Rail.

Mesic Floodplain Forest extension
This woodland has the same conditions and flora as the Ferguson Bluebell Woodland as is covered with spring ephemeral wildflowers in springtime. These are both very healthy woodlands that are not infested with invasive understory brush like non-native honeysuckles and buckthorns like so many woodlands in the region.

Pecatonica River
1835 Maps call this the Peeketolika River while the original land survey of the township in 1843 labels it the Pekatonica River. The word is anglicized from the Algonquin Bekaaniba or Slow Water (Bekaa = slow, niba = water). This lower portion of the river has a very low gradient in a former lake bed, creating an inordinately meandering river whose channels continually cut off river loops forming an incredible series of former river channels “oxbow” wetlands. The river is often called the crooked river because of this unique set of features.

Sunset View of the Crooked River
The river flows south to north here on the west side of Oxbow Springs and this site offers great views of the setting sun as well as great views to a broad sweep of the river. The lack of forest in this location will be fixed with reforestation that will also help keep the river channel in place. Trees like cottonwood, sycamore and silver maple will be planted to help strengthen the riverbank. Nature’s shrub engineers including Sandbar Willow, Missouri Willow, Silky Dogwood and Indigobush will also be planted to strengthen the shoreline and improve the habitat.

Wet Floodplain Forest
Wet floodplain forest is the wooded land adjacent to a river that floods annually. Characteristic Trees of this habitat include American Elm, Green Ash, Cottonwood, and Silver Maple. The elm was devastated by Dutch Elm Disease (DED) one half century ago, while the ash has been recently killed by the alien emerald ash borer (EAB). Most of the forest here is dominated by Silver Maple with some Cottonwoods. Floodplain trees grow quickly and are well adapted to flooding and having their roots covered with silt. They are mainly shorter-lived trees with weaker wood but this creates exceptional habitat for wildlife as broken limbs and hollowed out trees provide animals places to den and nest.

Old Cabin Site: the sign reads Checkpoint Charlie
This is the site of a former cabin that was destroyed by flooding many years ago. This land has always been a sportsman’s and naturalist’s paradise where outdoor enthusiasts could escape to the wild. Checkpoint Charlie was the Western Allies name for a Berlin Wall crossing point during the Cold War, representing the separation of East and West. Perhaps this represents the separation of the wild and civilized. The brick chimney and concrete floor of the cabin remain and it makes for a nice rest stop along the nature trail as it is near where Doty Creek empties into the Pecatonica River.

Directions