Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
Map of the United States
Location	Will County, Illinois
Nearest city	Elwood
Coordinates	41°20′33″N 88°07′52″W / 41.34252°N 88.13123°W / 41.34252; -88.13123Coordinates: 41°20′33″N 88°07′52″W / 41.34252°N 88.13123°W / 41.34252; -88.13123
Area	20,000 acres (8,100 ha)
Established	1996
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie headquarters entrance. Located on Illinois Route 53 near the center of the protected area.

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is a prairie reserve operated by the United States Forest Service. It is in the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion. It is located on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant near Elwood, Illinois, and was established by federal law in 1996. The Illinois Land Conservation Act (Public Law 104-106) created the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, designated the transfer of 19,165 acres (78 km²) of land in Illinois from the U.S. Army to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, and mandates that Midewin be managed to meet four primary objectives:

1) To conserve, restore, and enhance the native populations and habitats of fish, wildlife, and plants.

2) To provide opportunities for scientific, environmental, and land use education and research.

3) To allow the continuation of existing agricultural uses of lands within Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie for the next 20 years, or for compatible resource management uses thereafter.

4) To provide recreational opportunities that are compatible with the above purposes.

The first land transfer from the Army to the Forest Service took place on March 10, 1997, and included 15,080 acres (61 km²) of land that was believed to be free from contamination. Subsequent land acquisitions place the current size of Midewin at about 20,000 acres (81 km²). After a period of ecological restoration, part of the prairie opened to visitors in 2004. Today, over 7,000 acres (28 km²) acres of the reserve are opened with public trails for non-motorized recreation.

The name Midewin is a Potowatomi Native American word referring to the tribe's healers, who it was believed also kept the tribal society in balance. MNTP was the first tallgrass prairie reserve and remains the only federally managed one located east of the Mississippi River where surviving areas of that biome are extremely rare. It is also the largest contiguous open land reserve in the Chicago area.

External links

• The National Forest Foundation's Conservation Plan for Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

• US Forest Service site for Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

• Text of Illinois Land Conservation Act of 1995 establishing Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

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