Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie | R9-RG-001-21 | May 2021 2021 CONSERVATION EDUCATION PROGRAMS The USDA Forest Service is committed to doing its part to help halt the spread of COVID-19. Masks and physical distancing are required in all USDA Forest Service buildings and facilities and on all national forest and grasslands, especially when physical distancing cannot be maintained. Safety is a core agency value. Images in this product that do not demonstrate appropriate measures, such as wearing a mask or physical distancing, were taken before mandates were in place. Photo Credits: USDA Forest Service photos by Veronica Hinke, unless otherwise indicated. Cover: Illustration by Lynda Wallis. Facing page: Midewin NTP 25th Anniversary sign. USDA Forest Service illustration by Cheryl Holbrook. Facing page 1: Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) on the Henslow Trail. Courtesy photo by U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Kardas. • Midewin NTP Tribal Liaison Joe Wheeler gives an interview for a video about the At Ease Nature Platoon in the River Road Seedbeds. • The sun sets at Midewin NTP. • Midewin NTP Restoration Technician Shannon McLaughlin weeds in the seedbeds near the south entrance to the Route 53 Trail. • Jacob Bartlett helps prune the bur oak “witness” tree that land surveyors used as a reference point in the 1820s. Courtesy photo by Penny Vanderhyden, National Public Lands Day. • A monarch butterfly pollinates goldenrod. Courtesy photo by Ron Kapala. Page 1: Armeline McCawley shows WGN-TV Executive Producer Larry Potash the ring that her father-in-law was wearing during the arsenal explosion in 1942. Page 2: False sunflowers. Courtesy photo by Mary Ann Bretzlauf, daughter of John Portegys, WWII Army Air Corps. • Two people read the information at the kiosk at Midewin NTP. Page 3: Black-necked stilt. Courtesy photo by Bill Glass. Page 4: Sunrise at Grant Creek. Courtesy photo by Bill Glass. Page 5: Canal Corridor Association Associate Director Erin Maze installs bicycles in the CCA’s bicycle-share rack at the Iron Bridge Trailhead. Page 6: Bison with calf. USDA Forest Service photo by Rick Short. • Kildeer flying high in the air. Courtesy photo by Greg Dubois. Page 7: Owl spotters wait for the perfect photograph to capture along the Henslow Trail in November. Page 8: Members of the U.S. Coast Guard load Christmas trees from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw at Navy Pier onto trucks for distribution to families in need in the Chicago area. Courtesy photos by U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Joseph Coach. Courtesy photo of trees on deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw by U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Junior Grade Patrick Buell. MIDEWIN NATIONAL TALLGRASS PRAIRIE 2021 CONSERVATION EDUCATION PROGRAMS Published by: Forest Service Eastern Region 626 East Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 https://fs.usda.gov/r9 https://fs.usda.gov/Midewin R9–RG–001–21 May 2021 Photo credits (continued): Page 9: Eastern kingbird. Courtesy photo by Greg Dubois. • A short-eared owl flies over the Henslow Trail. Courtesy photo by Mark Korosa. • Brushwood Center Executive Director Catherine Game looks for birds in the South Patrol Road Prairie Restoration Area. Courtesy photo by Mark Korosa. Page 10: Left to Right: WGN-TV Producer Mike D’Angelo, Midewin NTP Archeaologist & Tribal Liaison Joe Wheeler, WGN- TV Drone Pilot Steve Scheuer. • Journalist Matt Alderton reads an interpretive sign at the Iron Bridge Trailhead. Page 11: Horses Briar (left) Gambler out enjoying the Henslow Trail on Thanksgiving 2020. • A gray treefrog rests on rudbeckia. Courtesy photo by Penny Vanderhyden. Page 12: American bullfrog rests in water. Courtesy photo by U.S. Air Force veteran Chip Miller. • The sun sets on the Midewin NTP. Page 13: A swallowtail pollinates thistle in the River Road Seedbeds. Courtesy photo U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Kardas. Page 14: A bison stands tall in the prairie. USDA Forest Service photo by Rick Short. Page 15: A mushroom grows on a tree on Buttonbush Pond. Courtesy photo by Harold Bretzlauf, grandson of John Portegys, WWII Army Air Corps. • Compass plant reaches for the prairie sky. Courtesy photo by U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Kardas. • Cows graze near Prairie Creek at Boathouse Road. • Cows graze near bunkers. Courtesy photo by The Wetlands Initiative Senior Restoration Ecologist Gary Sullivan. All clipart is from Adobe Stock. Below: Two visitors to the Midewin NTP enjoy a day out on the prairie. CONTENTS: WEBINARS ............................... 1 TOURS ..................................... 9 FOR KIDS ............................... 11 REGISTRATION Unless otherwise noted in individual program descriptions, register for programs and tours by emailing SM.FS. [email protected] or calling (815) 423-6370. Please provide your name and email address. A representative will respond with information for participants. SELF-GUIDED INTERPRETIVE HIKES Four self-guided interpretive tours are just a screen tap away on your smartphone, tablet, or computer! NEW! Two all-new tours explore native Illinois prairie plants at the River Road Seedbeds and through the writings of 1840s journalist Eliza Steele. Eliza’s descriptions of prairie plants and more provide us with a glimpse of what prairie might have looked like long before there were cameras and photographs. Both tours are on the west side of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. On the east side of the byway, the Prairie Farmer Tour and the Iron Bridge Trailhead Tour have delighted visitors for years. Learn more about Midewin NTP interpretive tours! https://tinyurl.com/n3kwtyux TRAIL MAPS Trail maps are available online in English and Spanish. https://tinyurl.com/46z7rzjf. Check out the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Visitor Guide! https://tinyurl.com/6uc294pc. SHARE YOUR PHOTOS Share your photos with others around the world through the Midewin NTP library in the iNaturalist smartphone application! https://bit.ly/2HAYFiK. A DAY AT THE MIDEWIN NTP MIDEWIN NTP PUBLIC WEBINARS April THURSDAY, 6 P.M. 22EARTH DAY Silver Anniversary Panel Discussion: “Volunteers and Partners” Over the past 25 years, volunteers and partners have been instrumental to prairie restoration. They have made a difference through projects on Earth Day, National Public Lands Day, weekly volunteer days, and so much more. This Earth Day, take a close look with us at some of the highlights of the essential involvement of volunteers and partners throughout the last quarter-century at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Moderator: Joe Wheeler, Midewin NTP Archaeologist and Tribal Liaison Panelists: • Paul Botts, President and Executive Director, The Wetlands Initiative • Allison Cisneros, Midewin NTP Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy in Illinois • Gail Pyndus, Founding Member, Midewin Heritage Association • Joe Roth, Formerly with Openlands FRIDAY, 10 A.M. 30 NATIONAL ARBOR DAY On National Arbor Day, learn something new about native Illinois prairie trees! We will partner with the Forest Preserve District of Will County to provide a LIVE feed from Midewin NTP where a bur oak tree will be planted in celebration of the Midewin NTP Silver Anniversary. Did you know that some trees are native to the prairies? Which trees are they? Where can you see them at Midewin NTP? The Silver Anniversary bur oak tree planting will be sponsored by the Midewin Heritage Association, the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance and the Will County Audubon Society. Midewin NTP Visitor Information Specialist Laura Lewis will present an interpretive webinar about native Illinois prairie trees. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ybjs7jmz. 1 MIDEWIN NTP PUBLIC WEBINARS May SATURDAY, 10 A.M. 1ILLINOIS ROUTE 66 RED CARPET CORRIDOR FESTIVAL: SILVER ANNIVERSARY TIME CAPSULE INSTALLATION Look for new bison calves. Explore the prairie through two all-new, self-guided hikes on the Midewin NTP smartphone application (https://tinyurl.com/33as527w): “On The Trail of Eliza Steele” and “River Road Seedbeds.” “LEND A HAND - CARE FOR THE LAND!” In Woodsy Owl’s 50th birthday year, share your “Woodsy Owl & Friends” nature photos on the iNaturalist app at https://bit.ly/2HAYFiK. THURSDAY, 6 P.M. 20 WORLD BEE DAY PANEL: “THE NEXT 25 YEARS: THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUTH” Moderator: Joe Wheeler, Midewin NTP Archaeologist and Tribal Liaison Panelists: Jerry Heinrich, President, Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance and Midewin Interpretive Association; Mary Mitsos, President and CEO, the National Forest Foundation; Jerry Adelman, President and CEO, Openlands; Gary Sullivan, Senior Restoration Ecologist, The Wetlands Initiative 2 MIDEWIN NTP PUBLIC WEBINARS June WEDNESDAYS, 7 TO 8 P.M. 2&9 BIRDS OF MIDEWIN NATIONAL TALLGRASS PRAIRIE WEBINARS (2-PART SERIES) Learn all about the birds that call Midewin NTP home. What makes Midewin NTP a special place for grassland birds? Will County Audubon Society Vice President and Midewin NTP volunteer Greg Dubois will present. • Part 1: June 2 • Part 2: June 9 WEDNESDAY, 6 P.M. 23NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK PROGRAM The USDA estimates that more than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops. Crops dependent on pollination are worth more than $10 billion per year. Celebrate National Pollinator Week and hear about what the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway groups are doing to help increase habitat for monarchs. How can you get involved? What can you do right at home? Find out in this informational webinar. Presenters: • Erin Holmes, Roadside Management Resource Specialist, Illinois Department of Transportation, Central Bureau of Operations • Casey Wichmann, Executive Director, Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway Annual Honey-Tasting: Break out your new favorite local honey to participate in our annual National Pollinator Week honey tasting. We will spend a few moments at the beginning of this webinar sharing tasting notes. 3 MIDEWIN NTP PUBLIC WEBINARS July WEDNESDAY, 6 P.M. 7“ON THE TRAIL OF ELIZA STEELE” On July 7, 1840, a prosperous New York writer was traveling through the area where Midewin NTP is located now.