The Prairie Ridge State Natural Area is a collaborative natural area managed by the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

. It is managed for the benefit of endangered, threatened, watch list, and area sensitive species associated with the

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroach ...

habitat of south-central Illinois, especially the

greater prairie chicken The greater prairie chicken or pinnated grouse (''Tympanuchus cupido''), sometimes called a boomer,Friederici, Peter (July 20, 1989)"The Last Prairie Chickens" ''Chicago Reader''. Retrieved August 27, 2014.（Chinese 中文：帕艺明彩大凤� ...

. The natural area is split between land parcels in

Jasper County Jasper County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. All are named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Five counties share a boundary with a Newton County, named for John Newton John ...

and Marion County, in the U.S. state of Illinois.

History and description

Predecessor activity to the setup of the State Natural Area (SNA) began in 1912 when state game managers counted what was then a widespread population of greater prairie chickens within Illinois. Changes in agricultural technology, particularly the development of fertilizer chemistry, sharply reduced the economic viability of grassland in Illinois and led to the plow-up of most of the remaining parcels of tallgrass prairie. After the Illinois greater prairie chicken population dropped to 25,000 in 1933 the hunting season was permanently closed, but this did not halt the decline. Conservation areas were purchased and set aside in 1939–1944, but the birds died out in these Northern Illinois parcels anyway. This created an incentive for the private sector to purchase grassland parcels in southern Illinois. These land purchases, which took place starting in 1961, acquired the land that now forms the Prairie Ridge SNA. As of 2014, the most recent land acquisition took place in 2001. The Prairie Ridge SNA today consists of public-sector and private-sector land managed for greater prairie chickens; as of 2014, it contains the final breeding populations of this species (which once numbered in excess of 10 million birds in Illinois) within the 'Prairie State.' A high-quality quarter-section of land (), the Robert Ridgway Nature Preserve, remains within the ownership of the

Illinois Audubon Society The Illinois Audubon Society is a nonprofit organization based in Springfield, Illinois. Its mission statement states that the Society intends to "promote the perpetuation and appreciation of native plants and animals and the habitats that support ...

, with most of the parcels of land within Prairie Ridge now owned by the state of Illinois. The State Natural Area is scattered, with at least seventeen separate noncontiguous parcels of land designated within the area. The Jasper County parcels center on grasslands south and west of Newton, while the Marion County tracts are scattered around the town of Kinmundy. Approximately 250 species of birds have been recorded at the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, of which 16 are state endangered species and eight are state threatened species. The IDNR manages the State Natural Area with the hope of re-establishing, or maintaining, breeding populations of greater prairie chickens,

Henslow's sparrow __NOTOC__ Henslow's sparrow (''Centronyx henslowii'') is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus ''Emberiza'' and called ''Hen ...

loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however it ...

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

upland sandpiper The upland sandpiper (''Bartramia longicauda'') is a large sandpiper, closely related to the curlews. Older names are the upland plover and Bartram's sandpiper. In Louisiana, it is also colloquially known as the papabotte. It is the only member ...

s, and other endangered or threatened species with a biological tie to grassland ecosystems. In some cases, the Illinois populations of these birds have continued to decline despite the creation of the SNA.

References

{{authority control Important Bird Areas of Illinois Protected areas of Jasper County, Illinois Protected areas of Marion County, Illinois State parks of Illinois State Natural Areas of Illinois