A Conservation@Home Story By Mark Luthin, NLI President August, 2026 About 30 years ago, Josh and Mollie Krecklow decided to build a home on a 5-acre parcel of land located between Byron and Leaf River. Their “yard” consisted of a former pasture, with all of the usual...
A Conservation@Home Story by Mark Luthin, President, NLI Board of Trustees Expecting only to offer advice on how to incorporate native plants into an established yard, I went to Jeff Linden’s home in Rockford armed with a folder full of guidelines, helpful hints and...
Illinois Big Tree Register Confirmed in November 2025 as the Illinois State Champion Northern Red Oak. “NLI’s Legacy Tree Program has discovered another tree that, pending verification, will become state champion. It’s a Northern Red Oak growing on private property...
October is OAK Awareness Month in Illinois: “OAKtober” By Alan Branhagen, Executive Director, Natural Land Institute Oaks are the most important tree to the forests, woodlands and savannas of our area (and almost every place they are found). Their mast of...
October is OAKtober – OAK Awareness Month in Illinois Natural Land Institute invites you to celebrate OAKtober with them by taking a tour of Burr Oak Valley Nature Preserve, a private natural area owend by NLI, on Sat., Oct. 29 at 1:30 p.m. There are only a few...
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