| Volo Bog State Natural Area | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 The open-water center of Volo Bog, surrounded bytamarack trees | |
  Map of theU.S. state ofIllinois showing the location of Volo Bog State Natural Area Show map of Illinois Volo Bog State Natural Area (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Lake County,Illinois,USA |
| Nearest city | Ingleside, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 42°21′06″N88°11′10″W / 42.35167°N 88.18611°W /42.35167; -88.18611 |
| Area | 1,150 acres (470 ha) |
| Established | 1970 |
| Governing body | Illinois Department of Natural Resources |
| Designated | 1972 |
Volo Bog State Natural Area is a nature reserve inIllinois, United States, preservingVolo Bog. The bog was designated aNational Natural Landmark in 1973 as the only remaining open-waterquaking bog in Illinois.[1] The site also contains woodlands, savanna, marshes, prairie restoration areas, shrubland and old fields. Maintained by theIllinois Department of Natural Resources (Illinois DNR), the site is located about a mile west ofU.S. Route 12 between the towns ofVolo andFox Lake, Illinois.[2]
The bog itself is 47.5 acres (19.2 ha) in size. It was originally a steep-sided lake created by the melting of a large chunk of glacial ice at the end of theWisconsonian glaciation. About 6,000 years before the present, a mat ofsphagnum moss began to grow out into the water, playing a major role in the evolution of this geological feature from alake into a bog.
As the sphagnum mat aged and thickened, the developing bog (already poorly drained) becameacidic. The bog's changingpH levels encouraged the growth of other acid-loving plant species, such asleatherleaf, certain specializedorchids, and coniferoustamarack trees. The development of a tamarack grove on the edge of the bog signaled further change in the wetland.
By historic times Volo Bog was deep into the process ofplant succession. While the center of the bog remained a pool of open water, shallower sections of the sphagnum-moss cushion had begun to provide a substrate for the growth of woody plants, such as tamaracks andpoison sumac. The edges of the bog were further developing from a bog into a slightly drierwetland.
A state-owned protective zone around the bog displays further stages of plant succession. The entire state park displays a microcosm of plant succession, from bog, through wetland, tosedge-grassmeadow.
During the 19th century Volo Bog was known to neighbors but not to outsiders. While the damp meadows surrounding the bog provided pasturage for a dairy farm, the bog itself was not economically used. The first field study mentioning Volo Bog was published by W.G. Waterman ofNorthwestern University in 1921.
As the 20th century moved forward, population growth in theChicago area placed Volo Bog under threat from residentialdevelopment.Cyrus Mark, the first president of the Illinois chapter ofThe Nature Conservancy, spearheaded the efforts to purchase Volo Bog for preservation. Under Mark's leadership, the Conservancy's Illinois chapter purchased the 47.5-acre (19.2 ha) bog and donated it to theUniversity of Illinois in 1958; this was the first land purchase made by the Illinois Nature Conservancy.[3] The university served as the bog's custodian from 1958 until 1970.
Growth in public sensitivity towardecological concerns in the 1960s led to fears that the bog could not survive as an isolated unit. It became clear that the wetlands and meadows surrounding the bog formed an essential element in the survival of the bog itself, as well as serving as a teaching tool for plant succession. In 1970 with widespread local public support, the University of Illinois transferred the bog to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the state of Illinois began purchasing parcels of land surrounding the bog to create the current 1,150-acre (470 ha) park.
Volo Bog was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1973. One of the wetland farm's original, circa-1900 dairybarns was renovated and reopened as the bog's visitor center in 1980.
Work since 1980 has concentrated on rebuilding and maintaining trails throughout the bog, increasing the accessibility of the bog and visitor center for persons with disabilities, and operating continuing ecology-education programs for adults and schoolchildren.
A volunteer restoration team was formed in autumn 2023.
Volo Bog State Natural Area currently offers two majortrails. An elevated 0.5-mile (0.80 km)boardwalk leads from the Visitor Center into the bog itself. A 2.75-mile (4.43 km) ground trail circles through the wetlands and meadows surrounding the bog.
