In cooperation with the USFWS the forest preserve district of dupage county are proposing to manage epfo platanthera leucophaea habitat at three dupage forest preserves that are also illinois nature…

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will receive $190,000 through a cooperative agreement award from the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 to manage habitat for the endangered Platanthera leucophaea (prairie fringed orchid) at three nature preserves in Illinois. Funded under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation grant program (CFDA 15.657), the District will control invasive woody species currently degrading core and potential orchid habitat over the period of December 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. This will bolster remaining orchid communities and provide opportunities for stabilization and expansion of the rare species against threats such as habitat loss and degradation in densely developed DuPage County. Residents of DuPage County and local ecosystems containing the orchid will benefit from these conservation efforts supported through the cooperative agreement.

In cooperation with the USFWS the forest preserve district of dupage county are proposing to manage epfo platanthera leucophaea habitat at three dupage forest preserves that are also illinois nature preserves.epfo is a federally threatened species facing many risks particularly in dupage county. From habitat loss, fragmentation, habitat degradation, hydrological change, climate change, island biogeography, lack of controlled burning since european settlement, woody and herbaceous invasive species encroachment, and limited cross pollination opportunities genetic diversity greatly threaten epfo. These threats are amplified in dupage county due to extensive development and human pressures. The immediate grant funded need for epfo is systemic control of woody invasive species currently degrading the core habitat and potential habitat along with bolstering the remnant communities to provide opportunities for epfo stabilization and expansion.grant beneficiaries are local ecosystems containing epfo and the nearly one million residents of dupage county.