. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. 42 Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems. The amount of potentially restorable natural land in the area is sizable. fragmentation. The most significant is the Castle Rock State Park/Lowden-Miller State Forest complex. Most of the 4,225 acres are forested, pro- viding one of the finest bird habitats in Illinois. Large tracts like this offer certain birds protection from competitors and predators that frequent the
. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. 42 Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems. The amount of potentially restorable natural land in the area is sizable. fragmentation. The most significant is the Castle Rock State Park/Lowden-Miller State Forest complex. Most of the 4,225 acres are forested, pro- viding one of the finest bird habitats in Illinois. Large tracts like this offer certain birds protection from competitors and predators that frequent the forest edge, such as the cowbirds that parasitize native songbird nests. The amount of potentially restorable natural land in the area is sizable. For example, several dozen acres of restorable prairie persist within a golf course maintained by the Byron Forest Preserve District. The Nachusa Grasslands offer similar potential as a large prairie. The Nature Conservancy site now includes more than 1,000 acres. The Conservancy intends to protect the existing patches of prairie and restore as fully as possible the fields separating them. Ultimately, the plan is to connect Nachusa to Franklin Creek State Park, maximizing the amount of contiguous wildlife habitat. Lower Rock River Basin The Lower Rock River Basin encompasses 2,543 square miles ( million acres) in northwestern Illinois, including substan- tial parts of Bureau, Carroll, Henry, Lee, Ogle, Rock Island, and Whiteside counties and slivers of DeKalb and Mercer counties. The bulk of the area consists of that portion of the Rock River's drainage area that lies between the DeKalb/Lee count)' line and the river's confluence with the Mississippi River near Moline. Agriculture is the dominant land use with of the land cover — high even b)' Illinois standards. More than 75% of the agricultural land (68% of the total) is dedicated to crop land (mostly row crops, but also small grains and orchards). The remainder consists
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