Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve Vehicle Access Restricted For Turtle Protection

LOCKPORT, IL — Access to the entrance road at Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve is being restricted to help protect turtles and other wildlife that live at the site, the Forest Preserve District of Will County shared.

The preserve is expected to be temporarily closed for a short period of time while barricades are installed near the entrance, the preserve said. The barricades will prevent vehicles from traveling deeper into the preserve, where they could crush wildlife crossing Division Street, which bisects the preserve, according to a news release. The work was originally expected to take place the week of June 15, but has since been delayed.

Once the work is completed, the preserve will reopen during normal hours, from 8 a.m. to sunset, the preserve said. Parking will be allowed along the gravel shoulders west of the barricades and east of Illinois 53, and visitors will be allowed to pass the barricades on foot.

The partial road closure was requested by Forest Preserve staff after recent data collection at the site showed increased turtle deaths caused by vehicles on Division Street, the preserve said.

Turtle mortalities have been documented on Division Street from April through July, said Juli Mason, the Forest Preserve’s director of conservation programs.

“Turtles are especially vulnerable while moving to nesting areas, including roadside habitats, which occurs primarily from May through July,” she said in a news release. “Protecting adult females during this period is particularly important for maintaining these small populations.”