Margery C. Carlson 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.

Green-winged teal. © Judy Foldetta

Illinois Projects

Nachusa Grasslands

Indian Boundary Prairies

Beyond Illinois

The Great Lakes

The Great Rivers Partnership

Introduction
Margery Carlson accomplished more during retirement than most people achieve in a lifetime. As a founding member and trustee of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois’ Board of Directors, Carlson dedicated her “golden years” towards saving more than a dozen natural areas within the state. From raising money to planting seeds, she devoted significant time and energy to protecting places such as Volo Bog in northern Illinois, and a 234-acre preserve located near her birthplace along the Vermilion County River, that was renamed in her honor in 1976. Prior to “retiring” into conservation activism, Carlson served as the first female to major in botany at Northwestern University, where she taught for 30 years. She passed away in 1985 after spending many of her 92 years advancing, teaching and practicing natural science.

Natural History
Carved out by the Vermilion River near its confluence with the Illinois River, a naturally eroding sandstone bluff highlights why Margery C. Carlson Nature Preserve was set aside for permanent protection. The river also winds through other breathtaking geological formations, and supports numerous fish, including the state-threatened river redhorse. Adding to the preserve’s richness, seasonal waterfalls, mineral springs and small canyons called “dells” host hundreds of yellow lady’s slipper orchids and more than seventy-five species of flowering herbaceous plants, including bottle gentian and the native perennial forked aster, which can be found at fewer than 50 sites across six Midwestern states.

Today
Due to recent staffing and budget cuts, the state’s system of nature preserves has had to cut back on more ambitious conservation and restoration goals to ensure important protected areas receive basic and regular attention. In spite of fewer resources, the Margery C. Carlson Nature Preserve continues to attract and impress thousands of visitors each year as part of the complex of unique natural areas comprising the 4,500-acre Starved Rock State Park. Since the park receives more visitors than any protected area in Illinois, a primary goal has been to manage the Margery C. Carlson Nature Preserve for responsible uses, and to safely and effectively control growing deer populations posing a threat to important habitat for songbirds and other wildlife. Visitors are welcome to the preserve throughout the year to enjoy canoeing, hiking and other nature-based activities.

Links
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Field Museum
Illinois Nature Preserve Commission
Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women In Science