CONSERVATION GRANT AWARDED–Clifftop recently was the recipient of an Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant. This grant will be utilized to help with stewardship services in the 97.8 acre addition to the White Rock Nature Preserve. Pictured is a spicebush swallowtail butterfly on monarda fistulosa (also known as wild bergamot or bee balm) that can be found in the nature preserve.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recently announced Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship (NAS) grants totaling $1,000,000 for land trusts in Illinois to support stewardship on land protected by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC).
There were 20 applications for the NAS grant and 14 were funded.
Local conservation organization Clifftop was awarded one of these grants in the amount of $75,275 to enlist contractual services to eradicate non-native invasive species and build a maintenance trail/permanent fire break on the 97.8-acre addition to the White Rock Nature Preserve and to expand and restore Vulture Prairie on the nature preserve.
For more on the grant, please see this week’s print edition.