Vehicle access to be restricted at Lockport Prairie to protect at-risk wildlife

Access to the entrance road at Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve is being restricted to help protect turtles and other wildlife that live at the site.

The preserve will be closed for a short period of time during the week of June 15 while barricades are installed near the entrance. The barricades will prevent vehicles from traveling deeper into the preserve, where they could crush wildlife crossing Division Street, which bisects the preserve.

Once the work is completed, the preserve will reopen during normal hours, from 8 a.m. to sunset. Parking will be allowed along the gravel shoulders west of the barricades and east of Illinois 53, and visitors will be allowed to pass the barricades on foot.

“Wildlife Crossing Sensitive Natural Area” signs will be installed to let visitors know why vehicular traffic is not allowed beyond the barricades.

The Lockport Township Road District owns Division Street. On June 11, the Forest Preserve Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with the road district to facilitate the partial road closure.

The action was requested by Forest Preserve staff after recent data collection at the site showed increased turtle deaths caused by vehicles on Division Street.

Turtle mortalities have been documented on Division Street from April through July, said Juli Mason, the Forest Preserve’s director of conservation programs.

“Turtles are especially vulnerable while moving to nesting areas, including roadside habitats, which occurs primarily from May through July,” she said. “Protecting adult females during this period is particularly important for maintaining these small populations.”