Your Blog Update from Henry Eilers and the Shoal Creek Volunteers

Smokey Bear

The local connection. Really? “Bear” with me, please.

The 2019 summer issue of Smithsonian magazine featured an article: ‘Under Fire: How our beloved Smokey Bear has become a lightning rod in a heated environmental battle. 

The article was prompted by the deadliest wildfire season in our history. Remember, 85 people died in a

 Prairie Gentian in October, a last exuberance
 of the prairei year

matter of minutes in Paradise, California. The article is fascinating on many accounts, not only for a fire practitioner. 

The name became a sensation in the 1940’s, surpassed probably only by Micky Mouse in name recognition. In 1950, Harlow Yaeger was a forest ranger in Prescott, Arizona and sent to help fight a forest fire near Flagstaff. He rescued a black bear cub and it was sent to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, ever since famous as ‘Smokey Bear’.

Rose Mallow or Hibiscus along the drainage,
 as beautiful as any of its many garden selections

I was visiting with Bert Arnold at our Litchfield Museum where Bert was still volunteering, though well over 90 years of age. What an example for the rest of us. Harlow Yaeger was Bert’s brother-in-law his wife, Marian was Bert’s sister! So, here is your small world, Litchfield and Smokey Bear connection. [I bet you did not know that, right?

Shoal Creek Limestone

Shoal Creek Limestone Formation', once much used in local construction

Our first histories, whether from adjacent counties or own Montgomery County were written about 150 years ago. Among the many other fascinating items, it mentioned that at ‘Rocky Branch’ [Rocky Hollow now?] was a quarry with ‘pretty good limestone’. It is apparently distinct enough to have its own name in geology: Shoal Creek Limestone formation. The foundations of the old St. Mary Catholic Church, Litchfield downtown stores and old residences came from this quarry and perhaps other nearby quarries as well. The blocky, rectangular outline of this stone is still visible in the Rocky Hollow inlet at lowest level during the winter drawdown. 

Horseshoe

Horseshoe mystery

On an early spring day, I was hiking up from the Rocky Hollow Lane to the Central Barrens. The ground was still a bit bare from the burn. What do I see? A horseshoe, very rusty, encrusted with soil, barely visible. It had been there for a long time, a very long time. No sign of an old lane, no landmark, just typical flat upland oak woodland here. Truly a mystery. This area was heavily logged prior to lake construction. Did they sled out the logs with horses? Probably not, as elsewhere I remember a lot of trees with damaged trunks, no doubt caused by careless use of motorized equipment. A prior logging event from earlier in the 20t^h century was documented from here because of a fatality. That’s when horses were definitely still in use.

Just 2 of our many aster species in the fall

A rather popular past time locally some 50 years ago was nighttime hunting of racoons with mules. Did a mule lose the shoe then? Would the size of the shoe give a clue?

We have a photo from the turn of the century, 1900, of a horse drawn carriage crossing the Shoal Creek Bridge below. ‘The Cave’ area, now what we call the Central Barrens, had long been a favorite local picnic spot. [The ‘Cave’ itself, lower down on the sandstone cliff, was inundated as Lake Lou Yaeger filled]. We have photos of ladies and gents in their Victorian finery enjoying such a picnic. Is the horseshoe from that era? The mystery remains!

SOS Project

 Julia collecting seed from one of the little species,
 Pale-blue Lobelia

The Seeds of Success [SOS] project is international in scope. Administered by Kew Gardens, of the UK. This effort aims to store as many native seeds as possible from all over the world. It is in response of the fact that we are rapidly losing our natural plant diversity throughout the world. That diversity is the underpinning of everything else, including our human existence. In the USA, the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] partners with the Millennium Seed Banking project above. Our central part of the United States partners with the Chicago Botanical Garden.

 Three-awn Grass, another one of the little species
 in utility corridor

Some five years ago I had collected seeds for SOS, but had forgotten just how much documentation work was involved. Still, for body and mind it was a stimulating project. We are part of the Southern Till-plain region and there had been few collectors. Most of the over 90 species came from our Shoal Creek Conservation Area and from the Route 66 Prairie.

 I had noticed a few abundant native species in recently cleared utility right- a-ways along city owned woodlands and collected there as well. To my great surprise, these strips were unexpectedly rich in species diversity and added greatly to the total count. Two of the species encountered, (What new species did you find?) though not collected for the project, may be county records. These are annual St. John's-wort species with rather interesting names: 'Nits and Lice" and "Orange-weed". While quite similar in many respects to our SCCA these small areas are still as different as siblings in a family.

Would it not be good if we could protect, enhance some of that diversity? Perhaps it is possible at the old Litchfield Lake by our water plant. There was a rather spectacular display of Button Blazing Star here last summer. If the adjacent woods could be opened up, cleared of invasive honeysuckle that could eventually make for an outstanding floral display from spring into fall.  It would be a great "Welcome Sign" as travlers approach our community from the east!

Route 66 Prairie

 Parking and trail under construction as viewed from overpass

Monarch on Showy Goldenrod on a breezy,
 dark fall day

Many have wondered as to what is going on here. IDOT has been in the process of installing a large parking lot and nature trail. That should be completed in coming months. It is called a ‘Pollinator Preservation Project’. Meanwhile our site activities have been and will be limited. The Natural Areas Guardians [NAGs], of which many of us are supporters, have collected large amounts of seed to eventually restore the nearly one acre of construction disturbance. We have also raised substantial funds for signage, as that was not included in the project. We want to highlight not only the long-lost prairie heritage, but also the history and meaning of settlement to the thousands that annually travel the Old Historic Route 66 Corridor. Good signage is important; not inexpensive though. We are looking for advice and input.

Here at little old Litchfield that we have two or more great projects of Illinois Natural Historyand more! Both provide many opportunities for getting out in nature! 

For volunteering opportunities contact:

 Henry Eilers at heilers@consolidated.net. 

You may send your financial support to Jim Stapleton, SCV, Inc treasurer, 

I am the Steward of the Shoal Creek Conservation Area, often referred to as the Shoal Creek Barrens, its most iconic feature.

Once most likely a barrens, now dominated by Sugar Maple
 and no ground  flora

This has been my main job for the last 30 years. I am also the Restoration Steward at the Route 66 Prairie. All well paid jobs, right? Well no, but who is complaining? It has been and still is a most rewarding journey. I digress.

Please keep supporting such work, as so many of you have done in the past - not only at the local level but also the public realm. Natural diversity is even more important than the much talked about issues like climate change. These two sites are literally just fly specks in a sea of human development. Yet such sites sequester huge amounts of Carbon dioxide, perhaps by the acre equal to or more than the even the Amazon rain forest.

Central Barrens from adjacent Waterfall Barrens lobe

Who would have known that just only a few years ago? We need significantly more projects like these, and at a far larger scale if we want to make a difference globally. Please don’t forget to make a little contribution to the cause, either by volunteering or digging into your pockets, even if they are not so deep. See addresses for that at end of blog. Thank you.

Henry Eilers often just called ‘Weeds’ and that’s ok by me.

Just one of the many showy forbs of summer
In the barrens

Thirty Year Anniversary

Thirty years ago, the Shoal Creek Conservation Area became a reality. It was set aside on January 6, 1990, by the Litchfield City Council and Mayor Dorothy Mansholt. The City and its lake department have been steadfast supporters ever since.

This once seriously overgrown woods with dense stands of invasive species, it is now a changed ecosystem with far more open appearance. It now resembles might how it would have looked to a Native American from the 17 or 18^th century! A great number of volunteers have eliminated undesirable shrubs and trees over these decades. The restoration has been aided from using prescribed burning of the area over the past thirty years. Although fire is a difficult activity, it is the one most necessary for recovery of such ancient woodland communities. It has been a force on our lands for eons and eliminating it has had unforeseen bad consequences. Undoing the ill effects of 100 – 200 years of little or no fire will take time. How much? Can we really know? The woodlands were also drastically altered by intensive livestock grazing and repeated timbering. Those eliminated most all the truly big trees, often leaving behind ‘doghair’ stands of slender pole trees.

Shooting Star, one of the early flowers

Today, with fewer but larger crowned trees, mostly oaks and hickories and a more open canopy, that has been the result of selective thinning, the various prairie grasses and forbs [flowers] that were barely hanging on in places are becoming far more common, especially in the Barrens community, creating spectacular displays in spring summer and into fall.  

Another unique forest community is the Flatwoods. Often flooded at various times of the year, it is home to many wetland species. It also contains such prairie species as the sky-blue Ohio Spiderwort early on and later in the season with many yellow composites and expanses of Purple-pink Prairie Blazing Star. The threatened Buffalo Clover, is just one of several rare species at our preserve. Not only are we talking about rare species here, but also rare natural communities as both of the above rank among the best [and unfortunately the few] of what Illinois has left.

Flat-woods with two flowered Cynthia

Take a closer look, the flatwoods in winter are now dominated
by the tan color of Giant Woodreed. The Black Oak had been girdled.
But also note lightning scar

Lake Yeager really emphasizes the seasonal aspects, creating lovely vistas throughout the year 

Mood of the seasons, winter time

Mood of the season, shoreline at lake draw-down

Mood of the seasons, muted fall colors

Plants and butterflies, rocks and critters enrich all hiking experiences. Woodland management has made remarkable differences.

A spider orb in early morning perfection

Many organizations have made all this recovery possible. Support in the beginning was strong from the Litchfield Rotary and the nature trail still carries its name. At the state and national level, The Nature Conservancy has also provided support and guidance. More recently Friends of Lake Lou Yaeger [Folly] and Litchfield High School Environmental Studies classes with their Earth Day celebration have stepped up to the plate. Above all, it has always been the individual who have made the significant differences visible today. The list of those volunteers is long and worthy of more than a few blogs.

An unusual color form of Scullcap
the only one I have ever encountered

Several prominent Ecologists have written accounts of their research, conducted in our Shoal Creek Conservation area, in several different scientific journals. An account also appeared in the Journal of the International Oak Society. At the 25^th anniversary meeting of this group, a contingent of members from many countries toured the site aided by FOLLY. ‘Got to love that name’, the editor remarked in his account of the visit! Many other groups have visited and more recently SIU-E has conducted orchid research here.

.

Bee-balm and Swallowtail

Ashy Sunflower, a showy denizen of flat woods and old-fields

Contact information

heilers@consolidated.net

Henry Eilers
1302 Union Ave.
Litchfield, IL 62056

If making a contribution to support the work that is being done make the check to
Shoal Creek Volunteers, Inc