Prairie and hardwood forests share the landscape at the Valley of Eden section of the Big Sky Nature Reserve.
Austin Wachter and Ben Steffes paused with me at a roadside vista that announced itself with a young oak just beginning to flex its branches in the shortgrass prairie at the Big Sky Nature Reserve. The view then swept away to the tallgrass prairie in the distance before hurrying beyond to the forest rimming the horizon. Since the land had once been cultivated, I wondered how much of the present foliage had filled in on its own versus being restored habitat.
“We embrace what nature wants to be here, and then help it along its way,” Ben offered, concisely explaining land management at Big Sky, where he and Austin serve as co-Directors.
Big Sky is a 900-acre Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation (JDCF) reserve located 7½ miles southeast of Elizabeth, IL, one of nine owned by or co-partnered with the Foundation. Philanthropist and conservationist Nancy Hamill Winter donated the land to JDCF in two stages, in 2016 and 2022, respectively. The two adjoining parcels still bear separate names—Valley of Eden and Home Farm—but together they constitute, and create, Big Sky.
* * *
Fall colors were just about to pop when Austin and Ben met me with a pickup truck at the Big Sky Nature Reserve to show me about the property. “We’re here to give the VIP tour,” Ben joked, practicing what they’d say if the truck encountered hikers on the trail.
The truck bounced first along the trail at the Valley of Eden, an internationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA). Its shortgrass prairie offers spring nesting sites for Henslow’s sparrows and bobolinks, two ecologically threatened species that hatch and rear their young in the grass from April through July. In all, the Reserve harbors 120 bird species, including several Illinois Species of Concern.
The trails wind through tallgrass prairie as well. By October, the wildflowers had given up their show colors, but back in mid-summer my wife Dianne and I had hiked among purple coneflowers, yellow compass plants, and big bluestem grass waving in the wind above eye level. That day we had also climbed onto a viewing platform at the crest of the prairie and wondered whether its star-gazing function was better suited for the night-time sky or for the galaxy of yellow and purple flowers spread out beneath us in every direction.
The Valley of Eden is also graced with a hardwood savanna where, over the past six years, Austin and Ben have been removing invasive scrub trees to re-expose 150- to 200-year-old native oaks. When we exited the truck for a short walk, we encountered two JDCF volunteers whose recent work had focused on the savanna, “giving the oaks some room to breathe,” they said. This day they were enjoying a hike amid their handiwork.
The Valley of Eden name derives from the Eden family who had farmed there for generations and who still rent three parcels from JDCF, rotating cattle among the sites to avoid upsetting grassland birds’ spring nesting. Ben explained that a Chicago Field Museum study at the site found that the cattle manure enhances the insect population, which in turn provides food for the birds, showing that agriculture and conservation can co-exist.
The truck then bounced over to Home Farm with its generally hillier terrain. This section is so-named because Winter had lived on the property for 25 years prior to donating it.
After driving down a long lane and exiting the truck, Austin and Ben invited me to climb the three steps of a concrete stair stoop at the edge of the parking lot where the view put me just above eye level of the windswept prairie. The stoop had indeed once been a house’s cement entryway, but Winter had placed it here years ago to use as a horse-mount. An award-winning equestrian, Winter raised horses at Home Farm and rode the trails with friends.
JDCF honors the equestrian past by designating certain trails for horseback riding from late summer through mid-autumn, when the paths are usually dry enough to withstand the impact of hooves and the grass-nesting birds have moved on.
Dogs are allowed on the trails from October through February, likewise when grassland birds are no longer nesting. In winter, fifteen miles of hiking trails are groomed for cross-country skiing. Recreational users sometimes aid conservationists, such as when skiers have identified short-eared owls that otherwise had gone unnoticed. “I think we ended up with a well-thought-out program for wider uses co-existing with conservation,” says JDCF Executive Director Steve Barg.
Visitors to Big Sky can choose among four parking areas, each offering easy hiking access to different habitat types, such as woodlands, prairies, and wetlands. “There are almost always people out on the trails,” Austin said, but with the Reserve’s various entry points, “you may well not encounter anyone at your chosen spot.”
“In May and June you can hear the grassland birds. In July the prairie flowers start blooming,” Ben added. “Every season has its own attraction.”
By noon, Austin and Ben dropped me off at my car, having enjoyed, I think, the diversion as much as I had enjoyed the tour. Now they’d get back to their work on the Reserve, which, depending on the season and the day, consists of aiding oak regeneration, removing invasive species, maintaining infrastructure, mowing trails, conducting occasional prescribed prairie burns, and more.
“Working out here, every day is different,” Austin said. But every day’s task was directed to helping nature along its way.
-- December 2025
“We embrace what nature wants to be here, and then help it along its way,” Ben offered, concisely explaining land management at Big Sky, where he and Austin serve as co-Directors.
Big Sky is a 900-acre Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation (JDCF) reserve located 7½ miles southeast of Elizabeth, IL, one of nine owned by or co-partnered with the Foundation. Philanthropist and conservationist Nancy Hamill Winter donated the land to JDCF in two stages, in 2016 and 2022, respectively. The two adjoining parcels still bear separate names—Valley of Eden and Home Farm—but together they constitute, and create, Big Sky.
* * *
Fall colors were just about to pop when Austin and Ben met me with a pickup truck at the Big Sky Nature Reserve to show me about the property. “We’re here to give the VIP tour,” Ben joked, practicing what they’d say if the truck encountered hikers on the trail.
The truck bounced first along the trail at the Valley of Eden, an internationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA). Its shortgrass prairie offers spring nesting sites for Henslow’s sparrows and bobolinks, two ecologically threatened species that hatch and rear their young in the grass from April through July. In all, the Reserve harbors 120 bird species, including several Illinois Species of Concern.
The trails wind through tallgrass prairie as well. By October, the wildflowers had given up their show colors, but back in mid-summer my wife Dianne and I had hiked among purple coneflowers, yellow compass plants, and big bluestem grass waving in the wind above eye level. That day we had also climbed onto a viewing platform at the crest of the prairie and wondered whether its star-gazing function was better suited for the night-time sky or for the galaxy of yellow and purple flowers spread out beneath us in every direction.
The Valley of Eden is also graced with a hardwood savanna where, over the past six years, Austin and Ben have been removing invasive scrub trees to re-expose 150- to 200-year-old native oaks. When we exited the truck for a short walk, we encountered two JDCF volunteers whose recent work had focused on the savanna, “giving the oaks some room to breathe,” they said. This day they were enjoying a hike amid their handiwork.
The Valley of Eden name derives from the Eden family who had farmed there for generations and who still rent three parcels from JDCF, rotating cattle among the sites to avoid upsetting grassland birds’ spring nesting. Ben explained that a Chicago Field Museum study at the site found that the cattle manure enhances the insect population, which in turn provides food for the birds, showing that agriculture and conservation can co-exist.
The truck then bounced over to Home Farm with its generally hillier terrain. This section is so-named because Winter had lived on the property for 25 years prior to donating it.
After driving down a long lane and exiting the truck, Austin and Ben invited me to climb the three steps of a concrete stair stoop at the edge of the parking lot where the view put me just above eye level of the windswept prairie. The stoop had indeed once been a house’s cement entryway, but Winter had placed it here years ago to use as a horse-mount. An award-winning equestrian, Winter raised horses at Home Farm and rode the trails with friends.
JDCF honors the equestrian past by designating certain trails for horseback riding from late summer through mid-autumn, when the paths are usually dry enough to withstand the impact of hooves and the grass-nesting birds have moved on.
Dogs are allowed on the trails from October through February, likewise when grassland birds are no longer nesting. In winter, fifteen miles of hiking trails are groomed for cross-country skiing. Recreational users sometimes aid conservationists, such as when skiers have identified short-eared owls that otherwise had gone unnoticed. “I think we ended up with a well-thought-out program for wider uses co-existing with conservation,” says JDCF Executive Director Steve Barg.
Visitors to Big Sky can choose among four parking areas, each offering easy hiking access to different habitat types, such as woodlands, prairies, and wetlands. “There are almost always people out on the trails,” Austin said, but with the Reserve’s various entry points, “you may well not encounter anyone at your chosen spot.”
“In May and June you can hear the grassland birds. In July the prairie flowers start blooming,” Ben added. “Every season has its own attraction.”
By noon, Austin and Ben dropped me off at my car, having enjoyed, I think, the diversion as much as I had enjoyed the tour. Now they’d get back to their work on the Reserve, which, depending on the season and the day, consists of aiding oak regeneration, removing invasive species, maintaining infrastructure, mowing trails, conducting occasional prescribed prairie burns, and more.
“Working out here, every day is different,” Austin said. But every day’s task was directed to helping nature along its way.
-- December 2025
Indian Grass paints the horizon at Big Sky Nature Reserve in northwest Illinois.
Sky blue aster peeks through pasture grasses.
Three enclosed cattle pastures, used in seasonal rotation, provide additional bird habitat at Big Sky Nature Reserve.
Sunflowers speckle the prairie like day-time stars.