Ebook: Exploring nature in Illinois: a field guide to the Prairie State

Jeffords and Post explore fifty preserves, forests, restoration areas, and parks throughout Illinois, bringing an expert view to wildlife and landscapes and looking beyond the obvious to uncover the unexpected beauty of Illinois's wild places. Maps and descriptions help travelers access even hard-to-find sites while a wealth of detail and photography offers nature-lovers insights into the flora, fauna, and other aspects of vibrant settings and ecosystems.;Foreword / by Tom CLay ; Preface ; Introduction: A brief natural history of Illinois ; How to use this book -- I. North. Apple River Canyon State Park ; Ayers Sand Prairie ; Bluff Spring Fen ; Gensburg-Markham Prairie Nature Preserve ; Glacial Park Conservation Area ; Goose Lake Prairie State Park ; Green River State Wildlife Area ; Harlem Hills Nature Preserve ; Illinois Beach State Park ; Matthiessen State Park ; Mississippi Palisades State Park ; Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie ; Moraine Hills State Park ; Nachusa Grasslands ; Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve ; Spring Lake Wildlife Conservation Area ; Starved Rock State Park ; Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge ; Volo Bog State Natural Area -- II. Central. Emiquon Preserve ; Forest Park Nature Preserve ; Funks Grove ; Kankakee Sands ; Ballard Nature Center ; Along the Vermilion and Wabash Rivers ; Lodge County Park ; Pere Marquette State Park & the Lower Illinois River Valley ; Loda cemetery prairie nature preserve ; Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve ; Prairie Ridge State Natural Area & Illinois Audubon Sanctuaries ; Robert Allerton Park ; Mason County Sand Areas -- III. South. Bell Smith Springs Recreational Area ; Cache River Ecosystem ; Cedar Lake ; Devil's Kitchen Lake-Rocky Bluff Trail ; Ferne Clyffe State Park ; Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve ; Garden of the Gods Recreation Area ; Giant City State Park-Trillium Trail ; Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area ; La Rue Swamp/Pine Hills Research Natural Area ; Little Grand Canyon ; Mermet Lake Conservation Area ; Piney Creek Ravine Nature Preserve ; Rim Rock/Pounds Hollow ; Simpson Township Barrens Natural Area ; Trail of Tears State Forest ; War Bluff Valley Audubon Sanctuary -- Epilogue: Your own backyard -- Appendix A: Directions to sites -- Appendix B: Natural divisions of Illinois.