The Nature Foundation of Will County received a $40,000 through CITGO’s Caring for Our Coast environmental improvement initiative to fund restoration work at a forest preserve that is home to some of the rarest habitat and species in Illinois and even the world.

Funds will be used to complete vital restoration work to protect and enhance habitat for endangered and threatened plant and animal species found at the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Romeoville Prairie Nature Preserve, which is near CITGO’s Lemont refinery.

Romeoville Prairie is part of the Des Plaines River preservation system and includes dolomite prairie, one of the rarest habitats in the world. Nearby Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve is also home to the globally rare habitat.

Dolomite prairie is a grass and wildflower habitat that grows in thin soil over dolomite bedrock, said Nick Budde, ecology coordinator for the Forest Preserve District. It is rare because it requires a highly specific combination of geology, hydrology, soil and disturbance.

“The Des Plaines River corridor in Will County happens to provide that combination particularly well,” Nick said. “The Des Plaines River Valley literally cuts through an area where Silurian dolomite bedrock is exposed or lies very close to the surface.”

Only about 140 acres of dolomite prairie exist in Illinois, and it is found only in the northern part of the state, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Because of the uniqueness of the habitat and the species it protects, Romeoville Prairie is designated as a state nature preserve.  The state identifies these areas, which can be publicly or privately owned, as important for protecting the state's natural heritage as well as threatened and endangered species. 

Illinois’ state nature preserves are home to more than 20% of all endangered species present in the state, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

“Ecological management is needed to maintain and enhance the habitat quality and the conditions required by these endangered or threatened dolomite-restricted species,” Nick said.

Restoration work funded by the grant focuses on controlling invasive species, Nick said, adding that the work will be completed in fall 2026. Dolomite prairie is particularly vulnerable to invasive species, altered hydrology and the accumulation of thatch and woody debris.

“These changes can reduce native plant diversity, alter ecological processes and eventually transform open prairie into shrubland or woodland,” Nick said.

This is the second consecutive year we’ve received funding from CITGO for restoration work at Romeoville Prairie.

“Budgets can only fund so much work. Grants like these help accelerate the amount ecological management the Forest Preserve District can complete in any given year,” said Tara Neff, the Foundation’s executive director.

The Nature Foundation was one of 15 nonprofit groups to receive this year’s grants, which totaled $620,000. Since 2014, CITGO has awarded more than $9.8 million through Caring for Our Coast. CITGO’s commitment to the initiative has helped fund more than 19,767 acres of habitat restoration in Illinois and along the Gulf Coast.

Investments like these help preserve our natural and cultural heritage, ensuring future generations experience the same beauty, biodiversity and environmental benefits these natural areas provide.