Carl and Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve

Directions:

2810 West Rockton Road, Rockton, IL 61072 815/6244143

From Rockford, take 251 North to Rockton Road exit, turn west toward Rockton, drive through Rockton.  The preserve is two miles west of Rockton on the south side of Rockton Road.  The first entrance is only open to the public for events and workdays.  The second entrance (across from Hansberry Road) has an overlook structure with a spotting scope and is open during daylight hours.

For 48 years, friends and members of the Natural Land Institute have worked together to protect the natural heritage of Illinois and southern Wisconsin.  As a not-for-profit land preservation organization, the Institute has attained recognition, respect, and support for its mission of protecting natural areas and natural diversity. The generosity of Carl and Myrna Nygren has ignited a land acquisition and restoration project of great magnitude, a project just west of Rockton, Illinois, that is restoring more than 700 acres of wetlands, prairies, and forests which will support rich biodiversity.

Partnerships on the local, state, and national levels have proven successful in guiding the early phases of this project.  Private donors, however, are the most critical element in assuring the long term success of the Carl and Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve.  You can play an essential role in helping the Natural Land Institute complete the acquisition and restore this dynamic complex to a natural condition.

Your support will provide habitat that bald eagles, ospreys, least bitterns, and sandhill cranes need for nesting and will ensure that amphibians, reptiles, and aquatic life will flourish again on this land and in its backwaters and streams.

Benefits extend to our communities as well.  Hundreds of acres of wetlands preserved in perpetuity function to lessen the impacts of flooding and associated chemical runoff.  Wetlands increase our potential to maintain clean water for local communities and those downstream.  They also increase the livability of our communities through increased economic, aesthetic, and recreational opportunities.

With your assistance, we can restore diversity and beauty to this land and preserve a place where future generations will benefit from our collective vision.  

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