Calumet City Prairie

About the Program
Exelon Corporation's Calumet City Prairie is located in Cook County, Illinois, about 20 miles southeast of Chicago. The site includes a five-acre parcel of transmission right-of-way (ROW) that Exelon manages as prairie habitat for wildlife. Their objectives are to preserve prairie plant communities and create pollinator habitat, primarily through invasive and woody species control.

Practices and Impacts

• Exelon began managing a five-acre parcel of the transmission right-of-way as prairie habitat in 2013 in partnership with contractors. The team also coordinates their activities with two adjacent properties that manage prairie, together forming a prairie corridor in the region.
• The team and their partners conduct annual vegetative assessments and manage invasive species through selective herbicide and cutting and collecting purple loosestrife seed heads. Prescribed burns are completed periodically.
• Monitoring data is collected in alignment with the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group by using their Tier 3 scorecard. This method captures pollinator use as well as native and invasive plant species. 
• Signs placed around the site inform visitors of the sensitive habitat.