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Welcome to the Clifftop Website!
We hope you’ll find our site useful, informative and entertaining. We’ve gathered information about our area — one of Illinois’ most resource rich — for you.
Clifftop Bought the Farm! This very special place in Monroe County lies atop a pristine underground wilderness. With time, restoration and research the farm will be another great outdoors place for passive recreation, natural beauty, and wildlife homes in Southwestern Illinois. To learn about this end-of-2013 purchase of 535 acres, please click on this link to Land Purchase to Protect Fogelpole Cave or use the drop-down link in the menu for Great Outdoors.
We’re very proud and privileged to protect our ‘Great Outdoors.’ The White Rock lands, purchased in 2010, host numerous threatened and endangered species and offer a wealth of passive recreational activities to visitors at White Rock Nature Preserve. In 2012, we were proud to announce the acquisition of Mill Creek Natural Area: geologic jewels of Randolph County. To learn about these special areas, please use the drop-down links in the menu for Great Outdoors.
Discover Clifftop, learn about the work we do, the agencies and people we partner with, and catch up on membership news and upcoming outings through links to our newsletter, Bluffviews and to our planned events.
A new way to discover some of Clifftop’s activities is to view the videos posted to our YouTube page. Video of our program “Fogelpole Cave Biology and Geography,” by Steve Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey, and Aaron Addison, Washington University, and our well-attended field trip to the Allscheid Rock Shelter archaeologic site in Monroe County and the very popular presentation on “Paleontology of Monroe County Caves,” by Dr. Chris Widga, Illinois State Museum, are available for viewing. You also can learn about our BioBlitz, watch Belle the bobcat and her son Bobbie take their first steps back into the wild, and view Dr. Clay Nielsen’s presentation on “Carnivores of the Midwest,” Dr. Lesley Deem’s presentation on “Pollinator Conservation,” and Korey Byers’ discussion on “The Weevils of White Rock.” Additional seminars, “Hawks and Falcons of the Bluff Lands,” presented by Pam Lippert of TreeHouse Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and “Archaeology of the Bluffs and Bottoms,” presented by Merrill Prange and Dennis Knobloch, and “Geology of the Bluff Lands,” presented by Sam Panno, Illinois State Geological Survey, and “Hunting for Conservation,” presented by Brian Mahon, retired wildlife biologist, also can be viewed. Access our YouTube page by clicking: http://www.youtube.com/user/clifftopnfp
Come with us into the Great Outdoors and explore the bluff lands: view and download trail maps to prepare for a hike or, if you’re staying in, look for our archive of CLIFFnotes for good reading about the natural history of our area.
Conservation Works offers information about stewarding land ~~ being guardians and caretakers of our precious natural heritage ~~ along with information about invasive plants and learning about gardening with nature, as well as sources for help with your lands.
Learn about ongoing scientific research in our area: studies of soil microbes and differences found between populations in healthy and woody-plant-encroached hill prairies; best habitats for ‘herps; and discover the wealth of biodiversity our bluff lands offer.
Much of the photography and text for this site was donated by Clifftop volunteers — CLIFFhangers — and we gratefully acknowledge their work and efforts.
Welcome home: to the Clifftop website and to the bluff lands home we share.
Conserving Lands in Farm, Forest, Talus or Prairie
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Clifftop | Facebook contact us: clifftop@htc.net