Prairie Land Conservancy – Wigwam Hollow Bird Sanctuary & Preserves
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Founded in 2008, the mission of Prairie Land Conservancy is to preserve wildlife habitat, open space, natural areas and sustainable agricultural land within west-central Illinois. They are a division of Prairie Hills Resource Conservation and Development.
Prairie Land Conservancy recently restored 200 acres of oak-hickory woodland and prairie preserve to create the Wigwam Hollow Bird Sanctuary. Located in Macomb, IL the sanctuary’s sole mission is to #bringbirdsback!
In 2012, Prairie Land Conservancy acquired 18 acres of the property from the Illinois Audubon Society. In 2019, Lew and Suanne Marx donated an additional 181 acres of adjoining land increasing the size of the sanctuary by ten times. Bisecting this land is Wigwam Hollow Creek that joins the protected east fork of the La Moine River. Restoration goals of this oak-hickory woodland are to manage, enhance, and create new habitat for migratory birds, declining bird species, and endangered Indiana bats.
Prairie Land Conservancy opened the sanctuary for public use in the Spring odyssey 2025. The land is conserved, in part, by funding made available as mitigation for impacts caused by the construction and maintenance of the Enbridge Pipelines, LLC, Flanagan south Pipeline. The Conservation Fund is working in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage the pipeline mitigation funds as part of its Midwest Habitat Fund.
The Wigwam Hollow Bird Sanctuary was designed to manage, enhance, and create new habitat for migratory birds, declining bird species, and endangered Indiana bats. Restoration efforts on this preserve have included removing invasive plants, timber stand improvements, re-planting native tree species, and the restoration of a prairie for bird and insect habitat.
Wigwam Hollow Bird Sanctuary is located at 1900 Wigwam Hollow Road.
Other Prairie Land Conservancy nature preserves in the area include Stony Hills Nature Preserve, Elwood Wildlife Preserve, and Prairie Hills Wetland Reserve.
