Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
1
County
Carroll
Location And Access
From Savanna at the jct. Hwys. 52 & 84, take Hwy. 84 south 2.7 miles south to Airport road, then turn and go east 0.5 mile. The nature preserve is north of the road.
Description
Ayers Sand Prairie is a relatively large preserve containing dry sand prairie, sand dune and blowout communities typical of the Mississippi River Section of the Illinois and Mississippi River Sand Areas Natural Division. An inventory of the plants revealed 39 species of grasses and sedges, 16 species of woody plants and 96 forbs. The dominant herbaceous species are little bluestem, June grass and hairy gramma grass. Carolina anemone, sandcress, puccoon and sand primrose are typical sand prairie species. Black oak and cottonwood occur in the blowouts along with scattered clones of aromatic sumac. Resident mammals include deer, skunk, rabbit, mole, shrew and western harvest mice. Summer resident birds occurring here include upland sandpiper, loggerhead shrike, western meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow and dickcissel. A number of the characteristic reptiles found in sand prairies occur at Ayers Sand Prairie.
Ownership
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Dedicated
December 1974 as the 50th Illinois Nature Preserve.
Size
109 acres with an additional 6 acres of buffer.
Topographic Quad
Wacker
Topo Map
For Further Information
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702
217-785-8686