William & Gayle Keefer Nature Reserve

Open to the public, daily from sunrise to sunset. 

This Nature Reserve features woodlands, a remnant prairie and three quarries. One trail leads into the middle quarry as noted in the map. Walking, hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing are allowed. Pets, dogs, fire, bicycles, ATVs, motor bikes and other motorized vehicles are not allowed. Collection of plants, animals, or any geological features are prohibited with authorization from Natural Land Institute.

PUBLIC Entrance: Woodlands Park, corner of Falcon Point Place and Park View Court, Rockton, IL 61072. Follow the Woodlands Park trail to the red star that says “You are Here” in the map below.

Service/Private Entrance: 12804 Old River Rd., Rockton, Illinois 61072

Donated to Natural Land Institute in 2017

Gayle Keefer and her husband William purchased a beautiful property in Rockton Township that had once had a limestone quarry on a portion of the area. The limestone was mined and dried in a large kiln, put on trains and then shipped out to be spread on farm fields. When William and Gayle purchased the property, the area that had once been mined was slowly recovering with successional forest beginning to work on bringing the scarred rock surfaces back to nature. There is a lovely wooded area, untouched by the mining, with Chinquapin oak, ironwood and a carpet of spring beauties.

This land was very special to William and Gayle. They loved the wildflowers and the wildlife. They would camp on their land and spent a lot of time outside, in the woods, walking the trails. When William passed away, Gayle moved to Chicago and sold the house and lime kiln separate from the rest of the property. She then decided to donate the remaining 36.5 acres to the Natural Land Institute to be managed as a nature reserve.

Because the property needs some TLC, Gayle has also generously donated an endowment for the land, so that it can be stewarded, and protected, as it deserves. Our long term plan is for the local community to be able  to access and enjoy this reserve, and to participate in its stewardship.

Thank you Gayle, for your generous contribution to protecting nature in your community!

In 2020, NLI was awarded a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) for $32,000 for habitat restoration at this Nature Reserve. When Gayle Keefer donated the land in 2017 she also gave NLI a substantial Endowment gift to manage this natural area. The Community Stewardship Challenge Grant from ICECF supplemented the annual distribution from Gayle’s gift by providing us with fuel to run our forestry mower and saws to clear the invasive brush, supplies to fully eliminate the brush and any other invasive species we encounter, native  seed to plant once the invasives are  under control, funds for an initial bird and insect survey to help us determine what wildlife call the Keefer Nature Reserve home, and even some funds to help us purchase a bat-wing mower which will drastically  reduce the amount of time it takes us to mow down the aggressive non-native plants and encourage native plant growth.

NLI’s Legacy Tree Program recognized a chinkapin oak tree here in August, 2024. Read the story and see photos here.

FUN FACTS

Burpee Museum of Natural History has a crinoid fossil found in one of the quarries at this Nature Reserve on display. It’s named after Burpee Museum’s first director, Malt Mahlburg.

Rockton Township Historical Society has information about the people that owned the land prior to NLI and how the limestone from the quarries was used in buildings around the Rockton area.

LIKE us on FACEBOOK.

The crinoid fossil found in a quarry at the Keefer Nature Reserve is named after Burpee Museum of Natural History’s first director, Milt Mahlburg, Reteocrinus mahlburgi.