Evaluating the Water Resource Interactions Sustaining a Dolomite Prairie Habitat at Lockport Prairie, Illinois

Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve (LPNP) is located adjacent to the Des Plaines River in Will County, Illinois. LPNP provides habitat for several threatened and endangered species including the Federally-endangered Leafy Prairie Clover and Hine's Emerald Dragonfly. Dolomite prairie is one of the rarest community types in Illinois. LPNP currently contains the highest concentration of high quality dolomite prairie in Illinois. The ecosystem is supplied by ground water by a dolomite aquifer known as the Niagara Dolomite, which crops out along a 40-foot high bluff. Ground water enters LPNP through seeps along the bluff and through diffuse discharge. A limited offsite watershed immediately to the west adds surface water. In order to understand the ground water and surface water dynamics, ongoing investigations were initiated in 2001. It was considered essential to understand the ground water and surface water mechanisms before restoration plans could be evaluated.