Hitt's Siding Prairie

About the Program
Exelon Corporation’s subsidiary ComEd manages the conservation program at Hitt's Siding Prairie, which is adjacent to the Hitt’s Siding Prairie Nature Preserve, a 256-acre prairie preserve, near Chicago, Illinois. The habitat actively managed is a pollinator grassland prairie. Conservation objectives include maintaining high-quality natural areas and high biodiversity, coordinating site management efforts with Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and providing a suitable corridor for prairie restoration. Employees are engaged in the project, as well as partners through Stantec, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The projects align with Exelon and ComEd’s corporate commitments.

Practices and Impacts

• The team targets herbicide applications are conducted to target common reed grass, reed canary grass, bull thistle and woody species to maintain the prairie habitat. Monitoring of the site is done at least once annually to assess outcomes of previous management and assess new and ongoing threats.
• Monitoring shows use by different types of bees, butterflies, wasps and beetles. Due to the high plant diversity, there is an abundance of pollen and nectar sources throughout the growing season. Monarchs and several species of milkweed were observed in 2019. 
• The University of Illinois-Chicago Tier 3 Rights-of-Way as Habitat Pollinator Scorecard provides a qualitative rating of habitat quality and plant composition based on the team’s site survey.