Racoon Grove

Description

Raccoon Grove is 202 acres of upland and floodplain forest, savanna and stream habitats representative of the Morainal Section of the Northeastern Morainal Division. The preserve is situated on the front slope of the West Chicago Moraine, the terminal moraine of the Valparaiso Morainic System which was deposited during the late Wisconsinan Stage upon retreat of the glaciers 15,000 years ago. Glacial meltwaters eroded the drainage basin of Rock Creek, an intermittent stream with its headwater system dissecting Raccoon Grove. The nature preserve protects approximately a third of the original Raccoon Grove that was mapped by the 1834 Land Survey as a forested island surrounded by prairie. Notable features include high quality examples of dry-mesic upland forest, dominated by white, bur and black oak and shagbark hickory, and mesic upland forest dominated by red and white oak and sugar maple. These forested areas have a rich mesophytic herbaceous flora. Management priorities include restoration of the prairie and savanna communities.