News & Media
There's always something happening at the Macon County Conservation District! Staff and volunteers work all year round to provide you with educational programs, restore natural areas, and preserve historic sites. To know what's going on:
Prairie Islander
Subscribe to the Prairie Islander, our free, quarterly newsletter. You may also read the current issue online or subscribe to our mailing list to have the Prairie Islander emailed to you each quarter. Scroll to the bottom of any page on our website to sign up!
Media Inquiries
For media inquiries about stories or photo requests, call 217-423-7708. If you wish to receive our news releases and photo opportunities via email, send a message to mccd@maconccd.org or call 217-423-7708.
Social Media
Receive trail condition updates, see the work we're doing, and share pictures of your visits to the conservation areas by following us on Facebook.
A Solid Foundation
By Ashton Dukeman We here at the Macon County Conservation District wouldn’t be able to do what we do without several vital things that all play major roles in our daily operations, including our amazing volunteer base, our stellar and knowledgeable staff, and of course, the public that we serve. One other major piece of the puzzle that makes up the Macon County Conservation District is the Macon County Conservation Foundation. As the fundraising arm of the District, the Macon County Conservation Foundation actively works to restore and preserve local natural areas, and to ensure a good quality of...
April is Citizen Science Month
by Beth Lane April is Citizen Science Month, and is celebrated by renewing the effort to involve the public in scientific research projects. But why should we care? Citizen Science is a collaboration between public and scientific professionals to collect and analyze data for research projects. It has pseudonyms such as: community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring. Citizen scientists are not always professional scientists! In fact they can be any age, from any walk of life, with any amount of experience. All that is really needed to be a citizen scientist is curiosity...
A Natural Partnership
By Ethan Snively For over a decade, Dr. David Horn’s biology classes at Millikin University have assisted the Macon County Conservation District with various natural resources projects, totaling well over 1,000 volunteer hours. This partnership with Millikin has been important for both the students and MCCD. While the Conservation District gets hands-on help for projects that would otherwise not get completed, the students get realworld experience, which Horn says better prepares them for their professional careers. “At Millikin University, we emphasize both theory and practice,” Horn said. “Ecological principles can be taught in the classroom and those concepts can...
It's #motivationmonday, let's pedal into this week to make it a great one!🚲
🐦Just a reminder, this Sunday, August 31 is the last day of the early-bird discount for the 2025 Prairie Pedal! This is one of the Macon County Conservation Foundation's fundraisers that help to support us here at the Macon County Conservation District in our efforts to preserve, protect, and restore our natural resources, and to promote environmental education to our community.
You won't want to miss the event this year! Lunch will be in the new indoor-outdoor classroom with a GREAT musician returning from this year's Summer Concert Series lineup 👀
Register today or put it in your calendar to register before midnight to take advantage of that lower price! You can learn more about the event and register here 👉🏼https://www.maconcountyconservationfoundation.org/events/prairie-pedal/
#maconitwild #ProtectWildlife #Illinois #outdoordecatur #DecaturIL #DecaturEvents #illinoisevents #maconconservation #enjoyillinois #MaconCountyIL #IllinoisOutdoors #MCCFoundation #SupportLocal #BikeForNature #PrairiePedal #Fundraiser #cycling #CyclingLife #cycle #cyclist #illinoisevents #illinoiscycling #roadcycling #roadcyclist #roadcyclists
🚨 Trail Alert for Sand Creek 🚨
Attention hikers and horseback riders—mark your calendars! The Sand Creek Trail Run, hosted by Fleet Feet, is happening on Saturday, September 13 starting at 10am. 🏃♂️
That means you’ll see runners out on the trails during the event. If you’re planning a hike or ride, you may want to adjust your visit time. Thanks for sharing the trails! 💚🌿🐴
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🚴♀️ Time for a #FundraisingFriday update! 🚴♂️
Don’t miss out—early bird pricing for the 2025 Prairie Pedal ends Saturday, August 31! 🐦💨 Register now to lock in the lower rate.
✨ Big news for riders this year: lunch won’t be under the pavilion by the pond—it’ll be in our brand-new indoor-outdoor classroom space! With the walls and doors opened wide, you’ll get to relax and refuel inside or out on the patio, all while being among the first to experience this exciting new space.
Ready to ride, explore, and support local conservation?
👉 Register today: www.maconcountyconservationfoundation.org/events/prairie-pedal/
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We're getting all set up for the Hummingbird Festival! We'll be out here from 3-6pm today. The weather is gorgeous and the hummingbirds are plentiful, we hope to see you there!
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🦌Good news hunters, all the information for our 2025 Deer Herd Management Program is up online! You can find all the information here: www.maconccd.org/conservation/deer-herd-management/
🏹And a wonderful new addition to our program this year is the new Youth Hunt opportunity. This pilot program offers local youth a meaningful way to take part in conservation through deer herd management. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of why controlling deer populations is vital for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Too many deer in one area can lead to habitat degradation and negatively impact other wildlife. Through this opportunity, young hunters will begin to develop a sense of stewardship by learning responsible, ethical hunting practices and how they contribute to broader conservation efforts. It’s a hands-on way to connect with nature, support healthy habitats, and learn how thoughtful management can protect the natural spaces we all enjoy.
For those not familiar, you might be asking, "Why would a Conservation District have a Deer Herd Management Program?" That's a great question that we are happy to answer!
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺
White-tailed deer are an important part of Macon County’s natural areas. Like many native species, they are beautiful and have a place in the ecosystem. But in many of our high quality conservation areas their numbers are so high that habitats are becoming unbalanced.
Deer are large plant eaters and consume a great number of plants. As a result, their high numbers are reducing native plant and animal populations, including endangered species.
Additionally, human activity eliminated natural predators of deer, such as mountain lions and wolves in the early days of the county’s settlement. There is little hope of returning those predators. In their absence, deer populations grow unchecked.
To maintain a healthy balance between the deer population and other species, the Conservation District initiated a limited archery hunting program. Over-harvesting is avoided by monitoring deer habitat and numbers.
𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦? The unfortunate reality is we may never be able to “let nature take its course.” The high reproductive capability of deer (each doe can have two fawns), lack of natural predators, and limited suitable habitat mean deer numbers can become unmanageable to a point of jeopardizing themselves and the communities they inhabit.
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