Lockport Prairie to Close for Dragonfly Habitat Rehabilitation

LOCKPORT, IL — The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve is scheduled to close for four months starting Nov. 1 as ComEd begins work to remove its utility poles from the site in an effort to improve conditions for the federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly.

During the project, the preserve will be closed to the public and monitored by ComEd security.

ComEd will remove power poles from land it owns adjacent to the preserve and from Forest Preserve property within the 320-acre preserve, which is located on Division Street, east of Route 53, in LockportTownship.

The poles will be cut at ground level so as not to disturb the rare dolomite prairie habitat located in the preserve. Helicopters will lift the poles from the ground, and they will be cut into pieces and stored in dumpsters until they are removed from the site.

The work stems from planning by a consortium of stakeholders created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to better protect endangered species, including the Hine’s emerald dragonfly.

“In the long term, removal of the poles will avoid future disturbance to habitat from utility line maintenance and will enable the (Forest Preserve District) to better manage habitat for the listed species because the poles will no longer be an obstruction or a safety concern,” said Kristopher Lah, endangered species coordinator with the USFWS office in Chicago.

ComEd will have to restore any areas of the preserve that are disturbed during the project, he added. The company has built a replacement power line system to the west of the preserve along Route 53.

“ComEd is spending a great deal of effort to relocate both distribution and transmission lines in the Hine’s emerald dragonfly area to help protect the species and support our commitment to reliability,” said Sara Rice, a senior environmental specialist for the company. “It was very difficult to maintain these lines due to lack of access and the sensitivity of the habitat.”

The company’s actions to remove the utility poles will help the Forest Preserve District with future restoration efforts, said Ralph Schultz, the District’s chief operating officer.

“ComEd’s decision to voluntarily remove and relocate the transmission lines bisecting Lockport Prairie will have a positive impact on the habitat,” he said. “Removal of the utility poles will make it easier for the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with a multimillion-dollar habitat restoration project at the preserve, and it will make the District’s prescribed burning and other land stewardship activities easier to accomplish without having to protect the poles or work around them.”

In addition to the Hine’s emerald dragonfly, Lockport Prairie also is home to the federally endangered leafy prairie clover, the federally threatened lakeside daisy and the state-endangered golden corydalis, tall sunflower, American brooklime, white beak rush, slender bog arrow grass, marsh speedwell, spotted turtles, Blanding’s turtle and Kirtland’s snake.

For more information on the project, call ComEd at 630-576-8220. For information on Lockport Prairie and other Forest Preserve sites and improvement projects, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.

Photo by Paul Dacko