8 THE! AUDUBON BU be Eee 
Foundation holdings, although small, have played an important rol 
in the rapid increase of the prairie chicken population at Bogota. Thy 
three northern sanctuaries in the central part of the range are well lo 
cated, and their acceptance by prairie chickens contrasts with the poo 
acceptance of the McCormack Sanctuary, which is about 2 miles south o 
the center of the range. No prairie chicken nests have been found on th 
McCormack Sanctuary in the 5 years it has been managed by the PCF] 
however, regular nest searches were conducted only in 1970, and then onl: 
on 25 acres of the approximately 40 acres of nesting cover on this sanctuary 
Only one prairie chicken has been seen there by project personnel. 
When buying additional land for prairie chicken sanctuaries in thi 
future, the PCFI should consider location and potential use by prairi 
chickens, and not the cost (if the price is within reason). 
LAND MANAGEMENT FOR PRAIRIE CHICKENS 
Management practices carried out on PCFI land this year consistec 
of burning, plowing, combining, mowing, haying, and the planting of nar 
row fields of soybeans, wheat, and rye. 
New signs matching the Nature Conservancy signs were made by thi 
Department of Conservation sign shop and erected on each of thi 
sanctuaries. 
A new International tractor, heavy duty mower, and blade were pur 
chased by the Department of Conservation to be used for managemen 
work on PCFI and Conservancy land. Some additional used farm tool 
are being transferred to the prairie chicken project from the Union Count 
Wildlife Refuge. 
AWARDS PRESENTED TO IWLA 
Board Member Elton Fawks presented Honor Award Certificates fron 
the PCFI to State President, Charles J. Klass, in June and to the Nationa 
President, Ray Haik, at the annual banquet of the National Conventior 
in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 10. 
PRAIRIE GROUSE COMMITTEE 
The Illinois Department of Conservation, through the Nature Preserve 
Commission, purchased from The Nature Conservancy fiour sanctuarie 
totaling 410.38 acres in June 1970. These were the 17-acre and 40-acré 
Cyrus Mark sanctuaries, the 58.3-acre Stuart H. Otis Sanctuary, and the 
135-acre Marshall Field III Sanctuary near Bogota, Jasper County, an 
the 160-acre Natural History Survey Sanctuary in Marion County. 
The PGC intends to use the monies received from the sale of thesé 
lands to purchase additional sanctuaries as soon as feasible. The Natura 
History Survey will manage the lands held by the Department of Con 
servation for the benefit of the prairie chicken. The Department statec 
its intention to dedicate these tracts as nature preserves by the Illinoi 
Nature Preserves Commission for the specific purpose of providing prairi 
grouse sanctuaries. 
The PGC now plans to acquire sanctuaries in the Kinmundy-Fariné 
area in Marion County. However, on August 31, The Nature Conservancy} 
purchased the 175-acre C. C. Fuson Farm just north of Bogota, and adja. 
cent south and west of the Otis Sanctuary. The purchase price wa: 
$58,000, or $331.43 per acre. With the high density of nests on the Oti 
Sanctuary in 1970, it was fortunate that this tract could be added to the 
sanctuary system at a reasonable price. 
