The local conservation organization known as Clifftop said it recently completed the purchase of a 100-acre forested addition to the White Rock Nature Preserve off Bluff Road near Valmeyer, which links the nature preserve to the southeast portion of Clifftop’s White Rock Land and Water Reserve.

Also included in this acquisition was the 54-acre Luella Schaefer Memorial Hill Prairies Land and Water Reserve, which adjoins the northwest portion of the White Rock Land and Water Reserve.

Clifftop said this purchase was made possible through a generous grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The foundation prefers to make awards to projects that purchase land outright and is proud to support the protection of wildlife habitat at natural areas throughout the state. 

To date, foundation grants have assisted with land acquisition at project sites in 51 different counties in Illinois.

Acquiring the unprotected 100 acres contributes to Clifftop’s goal of protecting and managing the collective acreage of the Potato Hill-Columbia Hill-Monroe City Illinois Natural Areas Inventory sites in Monroe County. 

The acquisition will provide more sustainability to the rare communities present, such as the hill prairies and glades, and help buffer the area against invasions of exotic species. 

“This acquisition is a great step forward to preserve additional high-quality natural areas in our region’s blufflands for the benefit of future generations,” Clifftop board member Jim Hill said. 

The Luella Schaefer Land and Water Reserve contains two limestone glades which are restorable. 

These glades are an important part of the mosaic of glade and hill prairie habitat found in this large complex of natural lands, Clifftop says. 

In addition, the glade adjacent to the White Rock Land and Water Reserve contains a population of state-threatened Missouri coneflower and state-endangered wooly buckthorn, and the reserve protects populations of the state-threatened timber rattlesnake. 

Andy Martin, a recent addition to Clifftop’s Board of Directors, has been hunting nearby property since he was a youngster.

“The acquisition of this property is a perfect complement to the existing Clifftop properties and further protects these delicate and disappearing forest lands,” Martin said. 

Clifftop’s board will be working with Debbie Newman, Natural Areas Preservation Specialist with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, to protect the 100-acre parcel as an addition to the White Rock Nature Preserve.

“As we continue to piece together our landscape of protected lands, the more that occurs encourages additional landowners to consider protecting their property. Conservation enthusiasm has a snowballing effect,” Newman said. “Clifftop’s acquisition of these lands will assist in securing more of Monroe County’s historic landscape for future generations to visit and enjoy.”

Now the real work begins, however. 

Clifftop volunteers will be busy eradicating invasive plant species, planning and clearing a trail, rehabilitating glades, and many other tasks.

If you’d like to help by joining and volunteering with Clifftop, contact their membership chair by email at cliffmbr@htc.net or call 618-935-2542.