Hanover Bluff Nature Preserve

As a part of its 50th anniversary celebrations The Nature Conservancy in Illinois is proud to feature places around the state that were protected by the organization and its partners.

Many of these places are now owned and managed other organizations and agencies, each of whom plays an important role in the continued health of Illinois' most important natural areas.

© James Dixon

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Introduction
First described in 1823 by geologist W.H. Keating, Hanover Bluff represents a part of Illinois that escaped glaciers that once flattened much of the Midwest. Boasting rugged hills, sharp ridges, sweeping slopes and narrow valleys, the area was dedicated in 1987 as the state’s 150th nature preserve, and the first to represent the unique topography contained within the region’s “driftless area.” A portion of the 470-acre site – located in Jo Daviess County – also contains a rare uninterrupted stretch of the Mississippi River, which forms the Wisconsin-Illinois border. In recent years, The Nature Conservancy has worked to secure more land for the preserve, an important endeavor in a state where only one percent of the original prairie landscape remains untouched by agriculture or development.

Natural History
The steep slopes of Hanover Bluff have escaped grazing and agriculture, thus providing treasured habitat for bald eagle, scarlet tanager, wood thrush, timber rattlesnake, and several species of frogs and toads. Thick and contiguous forests of white oak, black oak, basswood and sugar maple also host rare plants, several endemic to the Midwest, such as the state-listed meadow horsetail and hairy umbrella wort. With a spectacular view of the Mississippi River basin, the preserve also displays beautiful wildflowers, including little bluestem and sideoats grama, and harbors more than 80 other prairie species.

Today
In 2005, The Nature Conservancy proposed that 67 acres be dedicated to the Hanover Bluff Nature Preserve, increasing its size to more than 470 acres. Acquiring land has complemented additional efforts by the Conservancy to manage this protected area as part of the Driftless Area Partnership, a coalition of local nonprofit organizations, civic groups, agencies, concerned individuals and landowners dedicated to protecting this unique Illinois landscape. One effort accomplished by the partnership – which includes The Prairie Enthusiasts, the Natural Land Institute, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation – resulted in a collaboration with three local landowners to develop and implement a formal restoration and management plan for 415 acres adjoining the preserve.

Links
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Jo Daviess County Prairie Sites
Driftless Area RRA