Outdoorillinois January 2007 Shawnee Hills Cliff

Southern Illinois’ exposed rock cliffs are one of Illinois’ rarest habitats. The Shawnee Hills Cliff Communities ) . liff communities are among d a decrease in moisture regime, n a l r a the most variable and harsh F or increased drying and shading c M e of the biotic communities in o of microhabitats; herbicide use in J y s e southern Illinois. t the vicinity; and changes r u o A cliff community is char - c upstream or upslope that could o t o h P Cacterized as a natural exposure of ( change water-flow patterns. bedrock along with the associated vari - One of the most successful ety of soils, rock debris and plants and conservation and protection pro - animals that inhabit it. Characteristics of grams has been the designation the associated community are deter - of Special Use Areas within the mined by composition of the exposed National Forest system in which rock, rainfall, elevation and direction of certain activities, such as logging, exposure. In these communities, the soil off-road vehicle recreation, or is thin or absent, the parent material is at other potentially destructive activ - or near the surface, and they are main - ities are restricted. In Illinois this tained at an early stage of succession by includes such well-known sites as the substrate or by natural disturbance. Bell Smith Springs Ecological The Shawnee National Forest is the Area, La Rue-Pine Hills/Otter primary caretaker for the high-quality Pond Research Natural Area, Lit - examples of Shawnee Hills cliff commu - many escarpments, bluffs and ravines, tle Grand Canyon/Horseshoe Bluff Eco - nities remaining in Illinois. The Shawnee and it is restricted to southern Illinois, logical Area and Lusk Creek Canyon Hills region is an area of unglaciated southwestern Indiana and western Ken - Ecological Area. uplands with rugged topography, with tucky. In Illinois, the Shawnee Hills are located in the far southern portion of the —Steven R. Hill , Illinois Natural History ) . s Survey, Champaign d state where they form a band from r o French’’s shootiingstar ( Dodecatheon f f e J Fountain Bluff along the Mississippi l frenchii ) e a h c i River on the west to the mouth of the M ineteen plants designated as endan - y s e Wabash River on the east and south to t gered or threatened in Illinois grow r u N o c the edge of the Ohio River lowlands. on, or in close association with, cliffs in o t o h the Shawnee Hills: Bradley’s spleen - P There are seven biotic communities ( wort, black-stem spleenwort, American on, or in close association with, the cliffs barberry, Ofer hollow reedgrass, Bel - in this region—dry limestone cliffs, moist low’s-beak sedge, black-edged sedge, limestone cliffs, dry sandstone cliffs, moist red honeysuckle, yellow honeysuckle, short-sepaled beardtongue, shortleaf sandstone cliffs, sandstone overhangs, pine, southern sanicula, early saxifrage, limestone talus and sandstone talus. ovate catchfly, filmy fern, French’s These rare communities, and the shootingstar, rock clubmoss, rock chest - nut oak, American orpine and small associated sensitive species, face sev - flower-of-an-hour. At least two plant eral significant threats, including: physi - species formerly known on the cliffs cal damage by human use (mining, have disappeared from the state in quarrying, logging, rock climbing); recent years: starry cleft phlox and bar - ren strawberry. human use of sandstone overhangs and rock houses; increased rate of erosion; January 2007 Outdoor Illinois / 27.

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