Nachusa Volunteers

About twenty years ago, some locals got together with The Nature Conservancy to buy about 300 acres that was slated to become a subdivision near the town of Dixon, Illinois. Since then, Nachusa Grasslands has grown to some 3,500 acres, much of it former cornfields that have been restored with native plants and birds. Most of the restoration work is being done by a spirited group of volunteer stewards, who manage large parcels of land with plenty of reverie. We profiled these volunteers in 2007.