Kankakee Sands is a complex of

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...

and

oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna (or lightly forested grassland), where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. It is also generally characterized by an understory that is lush with grass and herb-related plants. The terms "oakery" or ...

restorations and remnants in

Kankakee County, Illinois Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,502. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History ...

and

Newton County, Indiana Newton County is a county located near the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 13,830. This county is part of Northwest Indiana as well as the Chicago metropolitan area. The county seat is Kentl ...

. It is managed by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

staff and volunteers. The Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands is of prairies and wetlands connecting

Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area is an area in Newton County, Indiana dedicated to providing hunting and fishing opportunities while maintaining , 1,800 of which are open water, marshes, and flooded crop land. History Willow Slough began w ...

, Beaver Lake Nature Preserve, Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve and Conrad Station Savanna. This creates over of dry, mesic and wet sand prairies, sand blows, sedge meadows, wetlands, and black oak savannas.

History

About 14,000 to 16,000 years ago, sands were deposited from glacial melt waters flowing from the retreating Laurentide ice sheet during the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

. This area is part of the Grand Kankakee Marsh system and the site of the largest natural lake in Indiana until it was drained. Beaver Lake was long and wide. As a shallow lake, only deep, it was filled with vegetation and wildlife. It was drained by the 1880s. The Nature Conservancy purchased of farmland in 1996 with the aim of restoring as a prairie. Bison roamed through Indiana when the eastern pioneers first arrived in the state. Explorers reported bison in the 1600s and 1700s. An 1824 traveler encountered a single bison near the modern location of the preserve and shot it. Bison were extirpated from Indiana by 1830. Twenty-three

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison''; : ''bison''), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with Bubalina, true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic species, endemic (or native) to North America. ...

were introduced to the Kankakee Sands in October of 2016. The bison are from the

Wind Cave National Park Wind Cave National Park is a national park of the United States located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and t ...

. Bison were indigenous to Indiana until exterminated by 1790.

Flora and fauna

The preserve supports a wide variety of plant and animal species. The bison provide management of the grasses on the prairie. They prefer grasses and sedges, leaving the flowering plants, which support a range of insects and animals. In addition, the bison, reduce the height of the plants, supporting ground dwelling birds. As of 2021 the bison herd had grown to more than 90 individuals. *772 plants: rattlesnake master (''Eryngium yuccifolium''), pricklypear cactus (''Opuntia humifusa''), beach wormwood (''Artemisia caudata''), roundheaded bush clover (''Lespedeza capitata''), Wild

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

('' Parthenium integrifolium''), **Prairie: lead plant (''Amorpha canescens''), smooth blue aster ('' Symphyotrichum laeve''),

New Jersey tea ''Ceanothus americanus'' is a species of ''Ceanothus'' shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild ...

(''

Ceanothus americanus ''Ceanothus americanus'' is a species of ''Ceanothus'' shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild ...

''), woodland

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

(''

Helianthus divaricatus ''Helianthus divaricatus'', commonly known as the rough sunflower, woodland sunflower, or rough woodland sunflower,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004). ''ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario.'' Toronto:Royal Ontario ...

''), rough blazing star (''Liatris aspera''), wild blue lupine (''

Lupinus perennis ''Lupinus perennis'' (also wild perennial lupine, wild lupine, sundial lupine, blue lupine, Indian beet, or old maid's bonnets) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Description The leaves are Leaf#Divisions of the blade, palmately comp ...

''), downy phlox (''

Phlox pilosa ''Phlox pilosa'', the downy phlox or prairie phlox, is an herbaceous plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in open areas such as prairies and woodlands. Description Downy phlox is a perennia ...

''), purple milkwort (''Polygama polygama'' v. ''obtusata''), bracken fern (''Pteridium aquilinum latiusculum''), Carolina rose (''Rosa carolina''), lanceleaf figwort (''Scrophularia lanceolata''), goat's rue (''Tephrosia virginiana''), lance leaved violet (''Viola lanceolata''). **Sedges and grasses: little bluestem (''

Schizachyrium scoparium ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

''), Pennsylvania sedge (''

Carex pensylvanica ''Carex pensylvanica'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family commonly called Pennsylvania sedge (sometimes shortened to Penn sedge). Other common names include early sedge, common oak sedge, and yellow sedge. Distribution This pla ...

''), ** Trees: white oak (''

Quercus alba ''Quercus alba'', the white oak, is one of the preeminent hardwoods of eastern and central North America. It is a long-lived oak, native to eastern and central North America and found from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec, and southern Maine south as ...

''), black oak (''

Quercus velutina ''Quercus velutina'' (Latin 'velutina', "velvety") , the black oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''), native and widespread in eastern and central North America. It is sometimes called the eastern black oak ...

''), sassafras (''

Sassafras albidum ''Sassafras albidum'' (sassafras, white sassafras, red sassafras, or silky sassafras) is a species of ''Sassafras'' native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern ...

''), **Wet prairie: swamp milkweed (''

Asclepias incarnata ''Asclepias incarnata'', the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp silkweed, or white Indian hemp, is a herbaceous perennial plant species native to North America. It grows in damp through wet soils and also is cultivated as a gar ...

''), blue joint grass (''Calamagrostis canadensis''), fox sedge ('' Carex vulpinoidea''), horsetail (''

Equisetum hyemale ''Equisetum hyemale'' (rough horsetail) is an evergreen perennial Herbaceous plant, herbaceous pteridophyte in the horsetail family Equisetaceae native plant, native to Eurasia and Greenland. It was formerly widely treated in a broader sense incl ...

''), blue flag iris ('' Iris virginica shrevei''), cardinal flower (''

Lobelia cardinalis ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate r ...

''), great blue lobelia (''

Lobelia siphilitica ''Lobelia siphilitica'', the great blue lobelia, great lobelia, or blue cardinal flower, is a plant species within the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial dicot native to eastern and central Canada and United States. There are two ...

''), winged loosestrife (

Lythrum alatum ''Lythrum alatum'', commonly known as winged loosestrife, winged lythrum or (in Britain and Ireland) angled purple-loosestrife, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It is endemic to wetland areas in central and east ...

), hardstem bulrush ('' Scirpus acutus''), green bulrush (''

Scirpus atrovirens ''Scirpus atrovirens'', known as dark-green bulrush, is a perennial Cyperaceae, sedge native to wetlands of eastern Canada and the United States. It is sometimes called dark green bulsedge, black bulrush, or green bulrush. ''Scirpus atrovirens'' ...

''), prairie cordgrass ('' Spartina pectinata'') *68 butterflies: regal fritillary butterflyWelcome to the Grace Teninga Discover Trail, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands; The Nature Conservancy; undated *153 bees *247 birds: Winter is the best time to see wintering owls and Rough-legged Hawks. From March thru June is best for seeing migrating and breeding prairie birds. ** Grasslands: American kestrel,

bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

, brown-headed cowbird, dickcissel,

eastern meadowlark The eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to its sister species, the western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespr ...

, eastern kingbird, field sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, Henslow's sparrow,

horned lark The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy The horned lark was Sp ...

, lark sparrow, mourning dove, northern bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, Savannah sparrow, upland sandpiper, vesper sparrow ** Wetland-grasslands:

American woodcock The American woodcock (''Scolopax minor''), sometimes colloquially referred to as the timberdoodle, mudbat, bogsucker, night partridge, or Labrador twister is a small shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodco ...

, common yellowthroat, Leconte's sparrow, marsh wren, Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow, red-winged blackbird, sedge wren, swamp sparrow, yellow warbler, yellow-headed blackbird, Wilson's snipe ** Shrubs: alder flycatcher,

American goldfinch The American goldfinch (''Spinus tristis'') is a small North American bird in the finch Family (biology), family. It is Bird migration, migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of th ...

, American tree sparrow, Bell's vireo, blue grosbeak, brown thrasher,

eastern towhee The eastern towhee (''Pipilo erythrophthalmus''), also known as chewink, joree, or joree bird, is a large American sparrow, New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spo ...

, fox sparrow, golden-crowned kinglet, gray catbird, house wren, indigo bunting, loggerhead shrike, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, orchard oriole, ruby-crowned kinglet, ruby-throated hummingbird, song sparrow, tree swallow, white-crowned sparrow, white-throated sparrow, willow flycatcher **Ducks:

blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia, ...

bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his lan ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in Temperateness, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is stron ...

, gadwall, greater white-fronted goose,

green-winged teal The green-winged teal (''Anas carolinensis'') or American teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Eurasian teal (''A. crecca'' ...

, hooded merganser, horned grebe, lesser scaup,

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

, mute swan, northern shoveler, northern pintail, redhead, ruddy duck,

ring-necked duck The ring-necked duck (''Aythya collaris'') is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek , an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Arist ...

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a partially migratory species of perching duck found in North America. The male is one of the most colorful North American waterfowls. Taxonomy The wood duck was Species description, formal ...

**Marshes: American coot, American bittern, black rail, night-heron, great blue heron, great egret, green heron, king rail, least bittern, pied-billed grebe, sandhill crane, snowy egret, sora, tricolored heron, Virginia rail, white ibis, white-faced ibis, yellow rail **Raptors:

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, broad-winged hawk, merlin,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

, red-shouldered hawk,

rough-legged hawk The rough-legged buzzard (Europe) or rough-legged hawk (North America) (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in arctic and subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia during the breeding season, and migrates s ...

, sharp-shinned hawk, Swainson's hawk,

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States, USA. The northern ...

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

, Cooper's hawk *9

snakes Snakes are elongated Limbless vertebrate, limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales much like other members of ...

: e.g. milk snake, bull snake, hognose snake * 2

lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

: e.g. six-lined racerunner, slender glass lizard *932

moths Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (suborder Rhopalocera) a ...

*10

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

: e.g. chorus frog, leopard frog, Fowler's toad, grey tree frog *33

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

: e.g.

plains pocket gopher The plains pocket gopher (''Geomys bursarius'') is one of 35 species of pocket gophers, so named in reference to their externally located, fur-lined cheek pouches. They are burrowing animals, found in grasslands and agricultural land across the G ...

turtles Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtle ...

: e.g.

eastern box turtle The eastern box turtle (''Terrapene carolina carolina'') is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles normally called box turtles. ''T. c. carolina'' is native to the Eastern United States. The eastern box turtle is a subspec ...

Other Nature Conservancy bison herds

The conservancy maintains a dozen herds through

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Conservancy bison herds: *Broken Kettle Grasslands, Iowa *Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie, Oklahoma *Dunn Ranch Prairie, Missouri

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Visit Kankakee Sands , url=https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/kankakee-sands-illinois/ , website=The Nature Conservancy , access-date=28 August 2021 {{Cite web, title=Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands {{! Overview, url=https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/kankakee-sands/, access-date=2021-08-28, publisher=The Nature Conservancy, language=en-US, archive-date=June 24, 2021, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200722/https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/kankakee-sands/, url-status=live Protected areas of Newton County, Indiana Protected areas of Kankakee County, Illinois Bison herds Nature Conservancy preserves 1996 establishments in Indiana Protected areas established in 1996