CliffNotes
The Ghost of Hedwig
The ghost of Hedwig, Harry Potter’s faithful friend, has arrived in Red Bud. The Snowy Owl is hanging around Pumpkin Blossom Hill, just east of town along Highway 154. Dan Peck of Sparta was heading home Thursday afternoon (Jan. 26, 2012) when he noticed an unusual white owl-looking bird on a power pole. He called […]
Something to Hoot About: Owls
Owls enjoy our special fascination. Perhaps it’s because they are a caricature of us: with upright, sometimes cuddly-looking, vertical posture, big, cheeky and expressive faces with large, emotive eyes, and cute little ears. But they really are the bird version of a wolf in sheep’s clothing: like a cat with wings, they are skillful […]
White Rock Nature Preserve Opens!
White Rock Nature Preserve is now open to the public. The 306-acre tract is permanently protected by formal dedication with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. The preserve is owned by two local conservation non-profit organizations — Clifftop and the Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development. The purchase of White Rock was made possible by […]
Cooperative Conservation and Power of Partnerships Fuel Healthy Environment
In 2001, the U. S. Congress authorized the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program and the State Wildlife Grant Program. The purpose of these programs is to improve overall wildlife habitat management in the nation, to lower wildlife recovery costs, and to address shortages in funding wildlife programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) was […]
Bluff Lands Corridor Vital to Wildlife as Climate Warms
A recent report, commissioned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, makes the strongest case yet of the crucial importance of our Mississippi River bluff corridor for the long-term vitality of wildlife in the state. The Illinois Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s May 2011 report —Adapting Conservation to a Changing Climate: An Update to the […]
Barn Owls in Search of Homes
With a voice that could double for a banshee’s scream, pale ghostly coloration, nocturnal habits, and an eagerness to set up housekeeping in abandoned buildings, barn owls are naturals for supernatural myth making. Superstition aside, barn owls once were known and welcomed co-residents as a farmer’s best weapons against grain-thieving mice, not even requiring the […]
Biological Treasure Hunt and Festival at Salt Lick Point Land & Water Reserve
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld occasionally rhapsodized to the press about varieties of “known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” The mystery and challenges of discovery – the ability to transfer the unknown into the column marked known – is a continual stimulus. That urge to know brought 52 scientists and naturalists to Valmeyer’s […]
Biological Diversity Serves Us!
Our Mississippi River bluff land corridor is one of the most diverse natural areas in Illinois. The corridor constitutes its own ecosystem– the Northern Ozark Natural Division– and stands on its own singular geologic formation — the Salem Plateau– both science-based measures of the region’s uniqueness in the state. An ecosystem is simply the sum […]
The Unique Nature, Wildlife, and Habitats of Our Bluff Lands
Dennis Knobloch, Vice President, Clifftop I grew up in the dawn’s long shadows of the bluff line. I have watched a lifetime of sunsets illuminating the cliff face — like a limestone necklace, jewelling the landscape of Valmeyer. My German ancestors spoke legions about the bluff lands’ magic and bounty; they spoke with that old […]
A Gathering of Eagles
The bottoms are abuzz with reports of large concentrations of Bald Eagles along Levee Road. Nothing seems to capture the imagination and excitement of Monroe Countians like a gathering of eagles. 2010 was a remarkable year for eagle watchers in our area and the numbers seen so far this year indicate that 2011 may be […]