Swift Prairie

About the Program
ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corporation, manages the Swift Prairie, an eight-acre grassland in northern Illinois. The 8.4-acre site is primarily restored mesic prairie with pockets of higher quality wetlands. Over 120 species of vegetation are found at the site, 73.2% of which are native. Notable species include Canada goldenrod, sawtooth sunflower, closed gentian, joint rush, cardinal flower, winged loosestrife, cowbane, fen betony and common ironweed. The team's objectives are to maintain the quality of prairie, increase vegetative cover and pollinator habitat, respond to threats with adaptive management, partner with the community on conservation initiatives and meet ComEd's prairie standards for biodiversity. Swift Prairie is one of over 35 sites currently in ComEd's Prairie Program.

Practices and Impacts

• The team annually monitors and maintains the vegetation on-site through an ecological restoration contractor, Santec. Typical management activities consist of selective herbicide applications targeting invasive species, mowing, brush management and prescribed burning when needed. Pollinators within the habitat are also monitored annually.
• The 2021 floristic inventory identified 145 total plant species, 106 of which are native. Recent monitoring data indicates that the site is well vegetated with approximately 75% cover by native species. The 2021 monitoring revealed usage by several different types of bees, flies, and butterflies.
• 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 a survey of the site. The site scored very highly with 80 total points; scores of 76 or more are considered exemplary rights-of-way pollinator habitat.