West Chicago Prairie

About the Program
ComEd is a Chicago-based unit of the Exelon Corporation. They provide electricity and natural gas to 70% of the population of Illinois by managing 90,000 miles of power lines in the northern part of the state. ComED is committed to conserving, restoring and enhancing the environment. The company is especially dedicated to preserving prairies along their transmission rights-of-way. This entails conservation work on over 35 sites, totaling over 450 acres. One of these sites is the 6.5-acre West Chicago Prairie, on the border of Kane and DuPage Counties. This site is managed in accordance with a neighboring restored grassland owned by Ball Seed.

Practices and Impacts

• For over 13 years, the team has been managing the West Chicago Prairie. With the help of a dedicated team and a partner organization, Stantec, invasive species numbers are maintained at low levels. At least once annually, this team adaptively manages the prairie through chemical treatments, brush management, mowing, prescribed burns or over-seeding. The methods employed each year depend on the amount and type of non-native vegetation present.
• The site is currently 95% vegetated, and it is estimated that 70% of the plant cover comes from native species including coneflower, rosinweed and beebalm. As such, the site provides high-quality habitat for several native pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The site is monitored annually and its performance as a pollinator habitat is assessed.