Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission

Location

 

North of Willow Road, in-between Wheeling and Elmhurst Roads, surrounded by Hillcrest Drive. Located in Prospect Heights. Project starts at Willow and Hillcrest Drive.

 

Size

 

13acres

 

History

 

Hillcrest Lake, home of the Pollinator Park project is actually part of the naturally occurring wetland know as the Prospect Height Slough. The wetland appears on the 1800 land survey maps as one contiguous body of water. It was in the 1950's that the dairy farmer put a road that bisected the site so he did not have to drive around the

 

Plants

 

Native species include:

Common dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca

Cinnanom Willow-Herb (Epilobium coloratum)

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

Grass Leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)

Biennial Gaura (Gaura biennis)

Wild Bergamot aka bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)

Switch grass (Panicum virgatum)

Gray-headed Coneflower aka Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

Common Elderberry (Sambucus nigra canadensis)

Prairie Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum)

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)

Canada Goldenrod (Solidago candensis)

 

Invasives/non-natives include:

Queen Anne’s Lace aka Wild carrot (Daucus carota)

Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

Lady’s Thumb (Persicaria maculosa)

Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

 

Noted features

 

This site is a very important area for the PHNRC to collect locally genetic seed from an assemblage of over 50 native prairie plants. The Prospect Heights Bike Path runs through the site in a mostly north-south direction.

In the northeast section of the property there is a small stream - difficult to traverse in spring, dry in late summer.