An illustration of this photograph showing Hopewell Hill Prairies Nature Preserve, in Hopewell, Illinois, is on page 138 of Side Channels.
Hill prairies, comprised of a mixture of wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs, occur on steep, southwestern-facing bluff systems, mainly along major river valleys. Growing conditions for plants are tougher here than elsewhere due to the typical intense afternoon sunlight, rapid drainage, and drying southwesterly winds, which prevail during the midwestern summers. Periodic fires are necessary to maintain the hill prairies; without fires, trees and shrubs take over from the prairie vegetation, despite the harsh growing conditions.
Hopewell Hill Prairies Nature Preserve, which is privately owned, occurs within a thriving subdivision on the Illinois River bluffs in Marshall County. Because most of the homes occur on flatter ground, the remnant hill prairies within the Village of Hopewell have been mostly spared from development. The prairie shown in this photograph is one of the best in the state, in terms of how the vegetation resembles what hill prairies were thought to be like before European-Americans moved into Illinois.
For more information on Side Channels, go to www.side-channels.com.
[Photograph by Thomas V. Lerczak. Illustration in Side Channels by Patti Malmborg Reilly]
