Park offers chance for visitors to go wild

Wildlife Prairie State Park west of Peoria has a farm with domestic animals for kids to pet. (Pantagraph photos/SCOTT RICHARDSON)

Sunday, August 10, 2008 12:01 AM CDT

By Scott Richardson
srichardson@pantagraph.com

HANNA CITY --Years ago, Brenda Pluskwik often took her kids to visit Wildlife Prairie Park off Interstate 74 near Peoria.

The family just moved from northern Minnesota, so the children were familiar with the forest environment. But the prairie setting was new, and she wanted them to learn the how living things relate differently to different surroundings.

She also wanted them to see firsthand important efforts to preserve a small portion of the prairie that covered Illinois before land-hungry farmers arrived from Europe.

"It's absolutely a beautiful place," said Pluskwik, who admits to being "close to 50." "... Seeing the prairie versus the forest, that was a unique learning experience."

Today, Pluskwik is on the staff at Wildlife Prairie Park. Her job is to help others have that same learning experience her family enjoyed. She is events coordinator, a big job in the year 2008. The facility, which is now part of the Illinois State Park system operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is celebrating its the 30th anniversary.

Ironically, Gov. Blagojevich's budget ax threatens the future of the park, park officials have said.

Wildlife Prairie Park encompasses about 2,000 acres. About 80 acres is natural prairie, where buffalo still roam. Antelope and elk roam there, too, and visitors can see them in their natural settings just as they appeared before they were hunted to extinction within the state's borders. Deer roam in the same area. Animals on display include black bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, timber wolves, gray and red fox, ground hogs and otters, among others. A new badger exhibit opens this year.

In all, Wildlife Prairie Park is home to 35 species of animals and 160 different animals. That count does not include the catfish, bass, sunfish, crappie and muskies that attract bank fishermen.

Linda Prescott has worked at the park 22 years and has been site superintendent for the last three. She said the facility opened a new eagle exhibit recently. Other birds include waterfowl, the greater prairie chicken, great horned owl, falcons, red-tail hawks, sandhill cranes and more.

There's also a variety of snakes.

Visitors number about 150,000 each year.

"I get to meet lots of new people every single year," Prescott said. "It's never the same two days in a row. There's lots of variety in the job. Change is quicker than the seasons."

The park was not intended to be a park at all. Instead, the plan was to make the facility an endangered species center for of Brookfield Zoo in the Chicago area. After the idea fell through from lack of money, William Rutherford stepped in. A former director of the Illinois Department of Conservation and a private pilot, Rutherford was concerned about preserving wildlife. He was also a private pilot who could look down and see the fragile Illinois prairie being gobbled up by urban sprawl every time he flew over Central Illinois.

When financing for the endangered species facility failed to come through, Rutherford sought help from famed animal expert Marlin Perkins, who suggested the park should house only animals native to Illinois. He reasoned they would need less special treatment, which would keep operating costs down.

Prairie restoration efforts were started. Not long after, surviving pioneer structures were moved to the site and reassembled. They include a log cabin formerly located in Washington where local lore insisted - probably incorrectly - that Lincoln had slept. The Graham Chapel Schoolhouse, which dates to 1855, moved to the park in the late 1970s.

Before his death, Rutherford deeded the park to the state. Officials renamed it The Hazel & Bill Rutherford Wildlife Prairie State Park.

The future includes 18 new acres of prairie restored with help from Common Wealth Edison, Ameren, the National Wild Turkey Federation and BASF.

Visitors can also opt to stay on site overnight in unique settings, including converted grain silos, train cabooses or suites built in what appears to be a stable.

The restaurant's Sunday brunch is wildly popular.

Pluskwik said exciting new events to observe the anniversary include Becoming an Outdoor Family, an overnight camping stay within the park May 31-June 1 modeled loosely after the NWTF's Becoming an Outdoor Woman program. Families will study nature and learn skills, such as backpacking, canoeing, outdoor cooking, finding their way in the woods and more.

Art in the Park, a chance to view and buy the work of area artists, will be both June 8 and July 6.

Prairie Ala Carte is a food fair with Peoria area vendors, wineries and entertainment.

"We've doubled the events," Prescott said.

Ongoing educational programs include Keeper for a Day for teens and Knee-High Naturalists and Junior Explorers for younger children.

The ability to do more programming and more capital projects depends on state funding, she said. Gov. Blagojevich has cut IDNR several times. He has voiced a desire to slash the operating budget even more. Most recently, officials said Wildlife Prairie Park could close if $828,200 in state funding isn't restored. Blagojevich eliminated that amount when he made $1.4 billion in budget cuts.

In the past, Wildlife Prairie Park received supplemental funding through Rutherford's efforts. Since Rutherford died, his son, William Rutherford Jr., has stepped in to help. The Friends of Wildlife also support the park.

"Right now, we are in for a lot of new things, but those are based on budgetary concerns," Prescott said. "Will be upgrading and improving. The park is 30 years old. Everything needs a little face lift."

Brad McMillan, the former district chief of staff for Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, chairs Friends of Wildlife Prairie State Park. The senior Rutherford encouraged the formation of the group to help raise money and guarantee the long-term sustainability of the park. A gap exists between the money the park generates from admissions and merchandise sales and state funding and what is needed to operate the facility, which was valued at $28 million when Rutherford deeded it to the state.

McMillan thinks the future will be "OK" if state funding is restored and supplemented with broad-based support from community and corporate sponsors.

The park must continue, he said, because it is a "jewel."

"It's very unique. The whole park is either animals or plants that are indigenous to Illinois. There really isn't anything else like it in our state," he said.

If you go

Admission: ages 13 and up, $5.50; ages 4-12, $3.50, younger children and park members, free

Sunday brunch: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; cost is $12.99 adults, $8.99 children

Kids Day: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Activities include an American Red Cross Bicycle Rodeo from 2 to 3:30 p.m.; face painting; DARE will provide fingerprinting kits for children; check out Limestone Fire Department fire trucks; jump and slide on inflatable attractions; karate demonstrations; miniature golf; train rides; refreshments; smelliest sneaker contest (kids 5-15 can bring your worst tennis shoes for a chance to win $200).

To get there: From Bloomington-Normal, take Interstate 74 west to exit 82; head south to the park

More information: www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org