Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 516,522, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is one of the collar counties of the metropolitan statistical area designated "Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI" by the US census.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.
The Des Plaines River is a river that flows southward for 133 miles (214 km) through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States Midwest, eventually meeting the Kankakee River west of Channahon to form the Illinois River, a tributary of the Mississippi River.
The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California and southwestern Oregon.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres (5 km2) in Madison, Wisconsin, the Arboretum also manages 520 acres (210 ha) of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped natural areas and for outdoor recreation. The Forest Preserve District encompasses approximately 70,000 acres of land or approximately 11% of the land in Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago and is the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserves also owns the lands on which the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden operate.
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is a governmental agency headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, United States. Its mission is to acquire and hold lands containing forests, prairies, wetlands, and associated plant communities or lands capable of being restored to such natural conditions for the purpose of protecting and preserving the flora, fauna and scenic beauty for the education, pleasure and recreation of the citizens of DuPage County.
The Ned Brown Forest Preserve, popularly known as Busse Woods, adjoining Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village and Schaumburg in Illinois, is a 3,700-acre (1,500 ha) unit of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. It is named after Edward "Ned" Eagle Brown. A section of the northeast quadrant of the forest preserve is the Busse Forest Nature Preserve, which was registered as a National Natural Landmark in February 1980. Busse Forest Preserve was named for Cook County Commissioner William Busse in 1949.
Carpenter Park is a 322-acre (1.30 km2) park on the north bank of the Sangamon River on the far north side of the city of Springfield, Illinois. Part of the park is a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve and has been designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois. The park, which is operated by the Springfield Park District, is one of the roadside attractions of old Route 66.
Sugar Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River, is a large creek in central Illinois, United States. It rises in Talkington Township in southwestern Sangamon County, flows briefly through northeastern Macoupin County, and then runs northeastward through south-central Sangamon County before discharging into Lake Springfield. The creek drains Auburn and Virden, Illinois and has a total length of 52.8 miles (85.0 km).
Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park is a 9,515-acre (38.51 km2) nature preserve located along the banks of the Econlockhatchee River in east Orange County, Florida, United States. The Preserve is bordered by the Econlockhatchee on the West and Wedgefield, Florida on the East. It is managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District and Orange County Parks and Recreation. Recreational amenities include camping, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, fishing, and wildlife viewing.
Lick Creek is a 30.6-mile-long (49.2 km) tributary of Lake Springfield and thus a tributary of the Sangamon River in central Illinois. It drains a large portion of southwestern Sangamon County and a marginal adjacent fragment of southeastern Morgan County. The drainage of Lick Creek includes all of Loami, Illinois and part of Chatham, Illinois.
The Funk Family is composed of Midwestern United States pioneers who did business in the fields of agriculture, politics, finance and civic life. Abraham Lincoln was one of Funk Farms' first attorneys and later served in the Illinois House of Representatives with Isaac Funk, who was a friend of Lincoln's and a booster when Lincoln ran for president. Funk and Lincoln were also responsible for bringing the Chicago & Alton Railroad through Bloomington-Normal in McLean County, detouring it from its originally planned route through Peoria.
Pilot Grove State Preserve is a historic site located southwest of Williamsburg, Iowa, United States in rural Iowa County. The site is a wooded knoll surrounded by prairie between the North English River and Old Man's Creek. It consists of hickory, oak and walnut trees, along with patches of virgin prairie covered with bluestem, gramma, switch and Indian grasses, and a variety of native prairie wildflowers. There was no other timber in the area during the early years of Iowa's settlement, and it was a landmark for the pioneers traveling west across the state. It was given its name because it gave people who traveled to and from Marengo, Iowa a sense of direction. A 4-acre (1.6 ha) cemetery was established adjacent to the knoll in 1867. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The property had been owned by the Kelting family, who donated it to the Iowa Conservation Commission so that they could restore it and maintain its mid-19th-century condition at the time of Iowa's pioneer settlement. It was dedicated as a historical state preserve in 1980.
Bartlett Woods is a 23 acres (9.3 ha) Nature Preserve located in Lee County, Illinois, US, situated along the bank of the Big Bureau Creek. It is a remnant of a larger forest which is no longer extant.
Goll Woods State Nature Preserve is a 321-acre (130 ha) nature preserve in western Fulton County, Ohio, near Archbold. It has been designated a National Natural Landmark for its oak–hickory forest.
The Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak State Nature Preserve, formerly called the Mason County State Wildlife Refuge and Recreation Area, is a State Natural Area and Nature Preserve located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Containing 1,460 acres, it is a dedicated state nature preserve. It is located in western Mason County. The nearest town is Kilbourne, Illinois and the nearest numbered highway is Illinois Route 97. It contains fragmentary examples of the ecosystem described in its name.
Fort Daniel Conservation Area is a 200-acre (0.8 km2) park located 4 miles (6.5 km) east of Mount Zion, Illinois. The land preserve protects the site of a ghost town, Whistleville. Today, the site centers on hiking and picknicking in the Big Creek watershed southeast of Decatur.
