Agencies
Services
Land and Water Reserve Area
5
County
Shelby
Location
The site is located approximately 2 miles west and north of Findlay. It is a satellite site of Shelbyville Fish and Wildlife Management Area.
Description
Margaret Guzy Pothole Wetlands Land and Water Reserve is a reconstructed prairie pothole complex that contains six shallow water wetlands interspersed with prairie. There are planted wet, wet-mesic, and mesic prairie (that contain 60 different species of grasses and forbs) with 30 - 40 acres of open water wetlands. The site represents the ‘best of its kind’ prairie pothole habitat in row crop dominated east-central Illinois. The area is extremely significant in that it attracts tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds during spring and fall migrations, including notable species such as the snow goose, northern phalarope, white-rumped sandpiper, dunlin, black-necked stilt, and ruddy turnstone. This site contains a large enough area of grassland habitat to attract area sensitive grassland birds.
Ownership
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Natural Division
Grand Prairie Section of the Grand Prairie Natural Division (#4a)
Registered
August 1999
Size
159 acres
Access
The site is open to the public. The best time to visit is late in the evening to watch the sunset on the overlook, or in the morning for bird watching. There is ample parking available.
Topographic Quad
Findlay
For Further Information
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702
217-785-8686
DNR.INPC@illinois.gov