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Two Rock Run Preserve access areas will open late for pavement striping work on Wednesday, September 23, Paul V. Nichols and Black Road Access; the Rock Run Rookery will open at its normal time, contrary to an earlier post.

Three hotels built by 14-year-old Luke Lunde of Manhattan and his Scouting crew at Isle a la Cache preserve in Romeoville are attracting solitary bees that nest in cavities and are important pollinators. 

Trail work is expected to last four days and is scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 22. 

The City of Naperville is cutting shrubbery away from the sides of Royce Road, but those who want to visit Whalon Lake may still do so by following detour signs and turning south on Lisson Road to get to the preserve's entrance. 

Grab that camera — or heck, take some nice landscape or detail shots with your phone — and then enter the Preserve the Moment photo contest and see if you have what it takes to become a September finalist.

Now that the additional restrictions have been lifted and Will County's COVID-19 positivity rate has declined, the capacity limit for picnic shelter rentals and field trip programs has returned to 50 as specified in the state's Phase Four of its Restore Illinois plan. 

If you're a birder and you haven't been to McKinley Woods lately, now is the time to get out and potentially spot a rarity in the area — a snowy egret.

The tortoise, which is not native to Illinois, was found at Hammel Woods around 4 miles from its home, so police believe it was dumped there by someone who found it wandering around its neighborhood after it escaped from its owners' backyard. Dumping animals of any kind in a preserve is against the law because it is harmful to the creatures and the environment. 

Woody vegetation and invasive species are being removed to provide more open space for the dogs to run as well as to create a drier turf surface with less mud and erosion. 

If you've spent any time in the preserves, you've probably seen a great blue heron hanging out and doing its thing. But there's another heron that's made an appearance in town, giving birders a rare treat.

A section of the Rock Run Greenway Trail that runs parallel to Houbolt Road has reopened now that the City of Joliet has completed work on a sewer improvement project.

Sign up for hikes to see fall colors, spiders, fungi, pelicans and rare species or just walk in the woods with your pup or family members to soak up the splendor of autumn. 

Yellow-crowned night herons are a rare sight here, as they generally don't come this far north in Illinois and their breeding grounds are largely along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The free "grab-and-go" containers can be used by anglers to properly store unwanted fishing line, which will keep the line out of the preserves where it could injure or kill wildlife. The containers will be available at three visitor centers.

Naperville resident Bertrand Leclercq is the fourth monthly winner in the contest, which continues through December 31. Overall contest winners will be chosen from among eight monthly finalists in January 2021.