PLANTS OF CONCERN:
MONITORING RARE SPECIES IN NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS
Plants of Concern, created in 2000, is a regional rare plant monitoring program designed to assess long-term trends in rare plant species. It is a flexible collaboration of public and non-governmental conservation agencies, landowners and volunteer groups, guided by an advisory group of land managers, scientists and volunteers. The program is founded on four core tenets:
- Monitor endangered, threatened, and locally rare plant species using standardized protocols
- Assess long-term trends in rare plant populations in response to management activities and/or threats to populations
- Train volunteers as citizen scientists to monitor rare plant populations and become conservation advocates
- Provide information on population trends and potential threats to the populations to public and private landowners, land managers, and agencies as feedback to help determine future management practices
Accomplishments
Since its ambitious inception in 2000, Plants of Concern has grown and continues to expand. New sites, plant species, and volunteers have been added every year. The importance of volunteer participation cannot be stressed enough, for it is literally the backbone of the program. Plants of Concern has thrived because of the dedication and perseverance of volunteers and the collaboration of regional partners. Over the course of 5 years, Plants of Concern has:
- Worked with over 322 volunteers
- Accumulated over 8735 volunteer hours
- Monitored 176 species, of which 56% are endangered or threatened
- Monitored 508 element occurrences
- Monitored 40-45% of the listed element occurrences in NE Illinois
- Monitored plants in 6 counties in NE Illinois: Cook, Lake, DuPage, McHenry, Kane, and Will
- Coordinated with 71 landowners
How YOU can help!
We are looking for volunteers of all skill levels to help with monitoring rare species in the Chicago area. Please contact the project coordinator, Susanne Masi for more information on how YOU can help us conserve rare plant species!
