Building habitat on private land isn’t easy. That’s why Barb Heyen built a conservation team to help transform 120 acres of her property in southern Illinois, from low-quality pasture to quail and monarch butterfly focused habitat.  Her deep connection to the land motivated her to preserve its ancestral value and create resources for local communities.

Preserving Ancestral Land

Part of the property in Hardin County, Illinois, has been in Barb’s family since the Civil War. When Barb’s father and mother passed away, it was the family’s wish to keep the property in the family. At times, the land made enough income to operate through cattle, haying and hunting outfitters. After reading an article about monarch conservation, she started on her path towards creating habitat for pollinators and quail.  

“From day one, Barb has been very passionate about her habitat project to save imperiled species like the monarchs and bobwhites,” says Caleb Crawford, a Pheasants and Quail Forever Farm Bill Biologist who assists Barb with land management. “Barb was raised in a small farmhouse on the property, so she has a deep connection with the land. The habitat project was originally a hay field that was left unmaintained after the farmer stopped cutting hay. It grew into a jungle of invasives and undesirables, as do most fields left unmaintained or unmanaged in southern Illinois.”

Cooperative Land Management

“Barb was all on board with a large-scale habitat project that would involve a full habitat restoration of the old hayfield, along with implementing forestry practices,” Caleb said. “A lot of hard work has gone into this project, and Barb has been able to successfully coordinate efforts from multiple partners to achieve her goals.”

Those goals include saving quail, conserving monarchs, and managing her land for healthy oak trees in the wooded sections. Because Barb didn’t have the equipment and experience necessary to do the work herself, she reached out to Quail Forever for help and connected with Caleb. That partnership became part of a larger conservation team as Barb contacted other agencies and organizations like USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

When asked about how landowners could build their own conservation team, Barb said “after determining your goals for the property, search for partners and organizations or agencies whose purpose and mission will help you reach your goals. Then, work tirelessly to develop a relationship with those folks and constantly communicate with them individually and as a team.”

Barb brought together people from Quail Forever, NRCS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program, the Southern Illinois Prescribed Burn Association, the River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area, the Forest Restoration Support Team, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Quail and Upland Game Alliance, Shawnee Resource Conservation & Development and TNC, to make a big impact on the land.  

Barb's experience exemplifies the successful collaboration between landowners and NRCS, through Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), to create healthy and sustainable landscapes that benefit both agriculture and wildlife. Her property is within the WLFW priority areas, which ensures conservation efforts are strategically placed for maximum impact, for species like monarch butterflies and quail.

In addition, EQIP helps promote and financially assist landowners in creating and maintaining diverse and healthy prairie ecosystems that support monarch butterflies, quail and healthy pasture.  Conservation practices that benefit monarch and quail habitat include establishing and enhancing conservation cover to provide milkweed and nectar sources to butterflies and cover for quail nesting and brood-rearing. Landowners can also enhance early successional habitats and implement brush management to control woody encroachment, and prescribed burning to provide travel and foraging opportunities for game birds like quail. These also offer nectar sources for monarch butterflies and other pollinators, all of which can provide the essential elements for monarch survival and address key threats, including reducing soil erosion, and improving water and air quality.    

Creating Community Resources

Barb's vision for the property extends beyond habitat work. She wants her land to be a resource for her community and that vision is already being realized. Researchers from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale have conducted botany studies on the property, hunters have been able to access the property for recreation via the Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP), and other landowners in Hardin County have been able to tour it as an example of how they can implement conservation practices on their own land.

Building relationships is at the center of Barb’s success.  Tim Elliot, a hunter who has access to the property through the IRAP program says, "So far in my hunting time, I have seen 58 deer and numerous turkeys. The different bucks I have seen on this farm actually amazes me. Whatever y'all are doing, keep it up. This farm reminds me of what I see on some of the TV shows about hunting in Illinois...I think the future of this place is going to be amazing."   

With good communication and some effort, any landowner can organize a management plan and a team of professionals to make their vision a reality. Get started by learning more about WLFW here. More information about EQIP and other conservation programs available to landowners through WLFW can be found here.