Grants

McHenry County Conservation Foundation has supported the following efforts, listed below by Conservation Projects, Education Projects, and Other Grants & Funding Support.

Since its inception, the McHenry County Conservation Foundation’s Natural Resources Management and Conservation Grant program has funded over 30 conservation projects, giving over $2 million in financial support. The initiative was established to facilitate efforts to preserve and protect the natural resources of McHenry County and to ensure the ecological integrity of our county’s natural heritage.

● Crystal Lake Park District – Sterne’s Fen Wetland Restoration
Funding for this project helped to restore a biologically significant Nature Preserve near Crystal Lake. Restoration activities included extensive brush removal and exotic species control, and led to the enhanced natural quality of the site. The site now provides habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species that are dependent upon the high quality calcareous graminoid fen and sedge meadow found there. Removal of exotic and invasive plants helped to promote the diversity of native species and has allowed better management through prescribed burns. Volunteers and trained staff were responsible for completing this important habitat restoration, helping to return this unique site to its natural state for all to enjoy.

● Girl Scouts - Sybaquay Council –Educational Wetland Monitoring. This grant helped purchase materials to assist the Girl Scouts in initiating a wetland monitoring project at the Mary Ann Beebe Center near Woodstock. Performing soil and water testing at the site, and monitoring changes in species composition as the site is restored, the Girl Scouts have had hands-on opportunities to learn about wetland plant species, wetland management techniques, and the diversity of the wetland ecosystem.

● McHenry County College –Construction of a Living Butterfly Exhibit
Funding helped with development of a living butterfly exhibit at McHenry County College. The exhibit is open to the public, school groups, and special interest groups. Native butterfly species such as the Buckeye and Pearl Crescent have been reared in the exhibit for scientific study and viewing. The display and propagation of additional butterfly species is anticipated, as techniques for rearing are refined. Volunteers from throughout the community are being trained as butterfly monitors through this exciting educational project, allowing skills learned here to be used in monitoring natural areas throughout the county.

● McHenry County Defenders –Natural Area Site Design and Management Planning
This grant enabled the Defenders to prepare a natural area site design plan that will improve and restore the quality of existing native plant communities and integrate natural areas within landscaped regions of their site. This eight-acre parcel is located in Woodstock at the Kishwaukee River headwaters and is the new home of the McHenry County Defenders.

● McHenry County Conservation District – Development of a Comprehensive Computerized Scientific Database. This grant allowed MCCD to enter and manipulate all of their hand-written biological inventory, management data, and historical land use records into a comprehensive database system. Developed by the Conservation Research Institute, this collaborative effort now allows the District to advance our understanding of the effectiveness of land management, contribute to the ecological knowledge of our county and its flora and fauna, and to communicate more effectively with land managers and planners throughout the county and neighboring communities.

● McHenry County Conservation District – Development of a digital record of the Nippersink Creek re-meandering project
This grant allowed MCCD to record for scientific study and historical record the first of its kind efforts to re-establish the historic meanders of the Nippersink Creek prior to its channelization for agriculture. Both photographic documentation and detailed written records were collected from all phases of the project, including planning, implementation and following completion. Comprehensive digital capture will allow this project to be used for educational purposes and provide great historical value for how the landscape of the Nippersink basin was changed on a grand scale.

● McHenry County Department of Health - Groundwater Resources Management Plan (2 years of support)
This grant helped the McHenry County Department of Health develop a management plan for groundwater resources throughout McHenry County. Such a plan was critical in helping to protect and sustain our deep-water aquifers. Because our county is 100% dependent on groundwater for potable use, the findings of this study have far-reaching implications for all residents.

● Illinois Natural History Survey – Population Dynamics of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in Northeastern Illinois
McHenry County is the last stronghold in the state for this remarkable species. This grant allowed researchers to individually mark yellow-headed blackbirds and monitor return rates, seasonal and yearly movements, assess reproductive success, and quantify how aquatic insect emergence may regulate productivity and guide settlement of yellow-headed blackbirds. Field researchers monitored 118 nests in eight breeding colonies. During the research, a new breeding site was discovered in McHenry County, which is now the largest breeding colony in Illinois. This state-listed, endangered species has declined dramatically in population over recent years, and this research will help managers better understand ways to protect and preserve this unique bird. Insight into guiding management for other wetland-dependent birds also was provided.

● Illinois Audubon Society – Restoration and Management in the Boone Creek Watershed MCCF funds were used in a collaborative effort with the Boone Creek Watershed Alliance to restore natural areas of the ecologically diverse Boone Creek watershed. The focus of restoration efforts was control of exotic species and removal of woody invasive trees and shrubs along the upper reaches of the waterway. Exotic species removal and prescribed burning has resulted in the enhancement of native plant communities, including the return of threatened and endangered wetland plant species. Restored areas included dedicated Nature Preserves, conservation easements, and public lands.

● Land Conservancy of McHenry County – Outreach to private landowners for protecting McHenry County’s most vulnerable natural areas
Funding allowed planners to identify the protection status of Illinois Natural Area Inventory sites (INAI) within McHenry County and to identify means by which to conserve those not protected through public ownership or private landowner programs. After parcels were identified and prioritized, landowners were contacted in hopes of protecting these vulnerable natural areas through such diverse programs as Nature Preserve dedication, Land and Water Reserve designation, or enrollment in a conservation easement.

● McHenry County Conservation District – Digital mapping (Geographic Information System Database) of District land holdings
Project allowed dynamic evaluation of land management activities and provided a planning tool to identify future land acquisition priorities and development of the most effective preserve designs. The new technology now allows the District to use map overlays of soils, land features, biological resources, development, hydrology, tax parcels, and many other features to better assess management needs and to target available parcels.

● Friends of the Fox River –Educational Streamfront Landowners Brochure
Funds were used to produce an educational brochure focusing on natural stream bank protection and upland buffer management. Techniques were targeted toward landowners along McHenry County’s four principle waterways, the Fox River, Kishwaukee River, Nippersink Creek, and Boone Creek. The brochures carry watershed-specific inserts highlighting the unique natural resources and special upland management needs on these waterways to protect the sensitive aquatic resources.

● McGraw Wildlife Foundation – Monitoring of Little Brown Bat Activity at Volo Bog
Funds were utilized by this widely recognized research Foundation for the study of one of the largest maternity colonies of little brown bats in Illinois. This project established an automated remote monitoring system to track individual bats as they traveled to and from the colony. The development and usage of this tracking system will contribute greatly to the study and understanding of this much-maligned group of mammals.

● McHenry County Conservation District - Glacial Park Headwater Restoration
Grant funds were utilized to expand MCCD’s restoration of the Nippersink Creek within the Glacial Park Conservation Area. Specifically, grant funds were used to restore the natural structure and composition of an ecologically significant tributary, a headwater stream called “Cow Pie Creek.” The project holds the distinction of being the first MCCF funded grant project completed in McHenry County. It resulted in the restoration of 1000 feet of creek channel and the creation of a 900-foot long oxbow wetland.

● Cary Park District - Carl and Claire Marie Sands/Main Street Nature Preserve
With these funds, the Cary Park District was able to restore four acres of this extremely unique natural community near Cary. The Sands/Main Street Nature Preserve is a dry gravel hill prairie, and just 18.4 acres of this rare habitat remain in Illinois. Park District Staff and biologists from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources first removed invasive brush, such as European buckthorn, and then applied herbicides to prevent re-growth. The restoration area had hundreds of native wildflowers blanketing the hillside within the very first spring.

● McHenry County College – Restoration of the Silver Bordered Fritillary Butterfly to Glacial Park
Using newly constructed rearing facilities and techniques developed at the college through an earlier grant from MCCF, the biology department reared larvae from this rare wetland butterfly and released adults to the wild in hopes of re-establishing this species in the newly restored wetlands of Glacial Park.

Several education projects have also been completed with the assistance of MCCF. These projects focused on providing teacher education and training.

● McHenry County Regional Office of Education, Environmental Education Program - Teacher restoration program
Funds were awarded to 25 individual teachers from around the county for a course in restoration ecology. Funding provided the group study materials and an opportunity to gather first-hand experience in analyzing site-specific data on ecological damage and remedial action.

● Woodstock High School - Illinois Rivers Project Training
This project provided river monitoring training, educational materials and testing supplies to 20 teachers from the Woodstock School District. Teachers were exposed to the biodiversity of local stream ecosystems and helped them better understand the dynamic nature of aquatic systems and how they are impacted by human activities.

● Friends of the Fox River - Fox River Watershed Curriculum
Financial support enabled the Friends to conduct two workshops for teachers, providing a unique educational opportunity for thirteen teachers and providing them with newly developed curriculum materials specific to the Fox River. From just these three projects, 58 teachers have been trained. With a ripple effect, these teachers were able to educate their students, reaching approximately 1,450 students in the first year alone.

● Chicago Wilderness - Steps to Sustainability: Mighty Acorns
The goal of this program was to introduce young people to nature through stewardship and exploration programs. The program offered assistance to schools and teachers interested in involving their students in land stewardship. Mighty Acorns empowered 20 Chicago Wilderness partners to work with over 250 volunteers who in turn provided education and stewardship opportunities to over 8,000 school children and 78 schools throughout the six collar counties of Chicago and Northwestern Indiana. They provided curriculum on wetland values and functions, assisted with website development, and hosted a summer nature camp. As a result, of this program, there was an increased public awareness and understanding of our region’s biodiversity: and hopefully greater support of our natural resource values.

The Foundation has been working with state, federal and other partner organizations, as well as private individuals, to secure funds for conservation endeavors in McHenry County.

● The Nature Conservancy- Financial support and host of the Fall Festival held at Fel-Pro Conservation Area, near Cary
The inaugural gathering of this regional event, the Conservation Foundation helped raise awareness of the significant natural resources located on this diverse site. Through long-term negotiations and cooperative partnership with several group, the area was eventually transferred to the Conservation District under the auspices of their natural areas management expertise.

● Iowa State University - Biology of Threatened Blanding’s Turtles in the Exner Marsh Natural Area
Funded through a settlement with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, researchers evaluated population viability, individual movements, and survival of Blanding’s turtles in the Exner Marsh Conservation Area, a site thought to support the largest population of this species in the county. Survival, age demographics, and rates of predation indicate that this population is critically threatened, and may not be able to persist in the coming years. Rapid urbanization, increased populations of urban predators, and loss of suitable nesting habitat were cited as the principal factors leading to continuing population decline.

● McHenry County Conservation District - Pleasant Grove Savanna and Prairie Restoration
Funded through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation 2000 program, this grant was awarded by the state for a restoration project in the Kishwaukee watershed. The project allowed MCCF and MCCD to restore 70 acres of prairie, sedge meadow, and oak savanna in the southern and eastern portions of the 1,450-acre Pleasant Valley Conservation Area. MCCD’s Pleasant Valley has undergone extensive restoration in the past ten years and contains over one mile of the Kishwaukee River. After a controlled burn, MCCD staff removed invasive brush and shrubs. Seed from native grasses, sedges and wildflowers were sown, and will provide additional habitat for declining grassland birds and the state threatened Blanding’s Turtle.

● Illinois Natural History Survey - Conspecific Attraction and Habitat Creation to Re-establish Breeding Forster's Terns in Illinois
These funds from the Lincoln Park Zoo, Zoos for Environmental Conservation (ZEC), and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, were awarded through the Foundation to a graduate student working at the Illinois Natural History Survey. Her work was responsible for the successful establishment of a nesting colony of endangered terns at the Lake Elizabeth Nature Preserve and the re-establishment of the state’s largest colony in Grass Lake at the Chain O’Lakes State Park.

● Boone Creek Watershed Alliance - Boone Creek Watershed Enhancement
A joint effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Conservation Fund, Boone Creek Watershed Alliance, Soil and Water Conservation District, Illinois Nature Preserve Commission, McHenry County Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, MCCF managed this complex Habitat Restoration Project (HRP). SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 With substantial financial support, we were able to make significant strides toward the management and long-term protection of the wetland resources within this watershed. This grant was used to assist in restoration of the primary headwaters and upper reaches of the Boone Creek stream corridor and its wetland features, and to initiate protection strategies for key parcels within the upper watershed. Wetland enhancement activities focused on the highest quality wetlands of the watershed, and in particular, those lands that had either conservation easements or were dedicated Illinois Nature Preserves. Work restricted to these key areas ensures future commitment to the long-term protection of the enhanced wetland resource.

● Illinois Department of Natural Resources -Turner Lake Fen Nature Preserve, Grass Lake Natural Area restoration
Funds secured from the U.S. Corps of Engineers allowed managers and biologists to remove extensive stands of exotic and invasive species from the high quality Nature Preserve. Following the initial treatment and clearing work, controlled burns were used to selectively reduce exotic species and to prevent invasive brush from encroaching into the high quality fen and sedge meadows of the site. At least thirteen state-listed plants and animals now are finding this unique habitat suitable and populations are continuing to spread throughout the site.

● Chicago Wilderness - Sustainable Watershed Action Team (SWAT)
Environmental Planning Solutions, Inc., used funding for this program to support a series of workshops and sessions for local communities to plan for future economic growth while recognizing the importance of the ecological amenities of their respective communities. Work included close partnership with the Illinois Conservation Foundation to help distribute funds and manage local workshops. SWAT provided services to local governments that helped them strengthen their planning infrastructure (e.g., comprehensive plans, ordinances) in order to allow conservation design practices to be implemented.

● Conservation Design Forum – Sustainable Watershed Action Team (SWAT)
The second in this series of efforts to empower local communities to promote economic development while protecting valuable natural resources, the Conservation Foundation sponsored a Conservation Design Conference for McHenry County Board members and other county stakeholders. Efforts helped direct the County Planning and Zoning Committee on work toward a county-wide Conservation Design Ordinance.

● North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)
Collaborative project with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the McHenry County Conservation District and the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The goal of this project was to identify and secure funding to acquire and restore up to 3,345 acres of glacial wetlands, sedge meadows, prairies, and oak savannas within northeastern Illinois. Although funding was not secured, the nearly one-year effort in planning and collaborative work yielded land acquisition opportunities and long-range planning insight for several projects that were undertaken by these and other public agencies.

● Illinois Natural History Survey - Population Dynamics of Forster's and Common Terns
Funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this project helped bring to closure the long-term studies of a graduate student from the University of Illinois. She had been studying these two endangered tern species in northeastern Illinois for nearly 5 years. Each species was found in only a single colony, and efforts were undertaken to better understand their nesting ecology in hopes of better managing their nesting habitat and improving nesting success.

● McHenry County Conservation District - Digitizing McHenry County Natural Areas Inventory Sites
Funding secured from the Oberweiler Foundation allowed Natural Resources Management staff of the McHenry County Conservation District to update site boundaries, species lists, management problems, ownerships and current protection status. Data collected from a 1998 study was complied into an easily searchable digital database. Digitized maps were created with the use of GIS technology. The completed MCNAI was distributed to local governments, citizen groups, libraries and schools for use in education, planning and environmental issues.

● McHenry County Conservation District - Purchase of restoration equipment
The Foundation secured a C2000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to purchase a rubber-tracked T300 Bobcat and attachments to help in large-scale restoration projects. This very specialized equipment not only allows managers access to the restoration site regardless of ground conditions (often wetland soils or areas with many physical constraints), but the cutter head allows a very efficient means by which to remove acres of invasive brush and exotic species in a short time interval, greatly enhancing the staff’s efficiency in restoring natural areas throughout the county.

● McHenry County Conservation District - Marengo Ridge restoration
Through a very generous private donation, the District is poised to initiate a large-scale restoration of their largest woodland tract. Invasive woody brush and exotic species will be removed to enhance the biological diversity of this large tract of oak/hickory woodlands.

● University of Illinois - Sandhill Crane demographics in northern Illinois
Through a very generous individual donation and collaboration with the International Crane Foundation, the McHenry County Conservation Foundation was able to purchase 18 radio transmitters for use in the long-term study of survival and movements of sandhill cranes in the rapidly urbanizing environment of northern Illinois. Additional funding for the University of Illinois graduate student was provided through the State of Illinois.