Section 4000.425  Management of Vegetation and Wildlife

a)         Control of plant succession

1)         Control of plant succession by deliberate chemical or mechanical manipulation may be undertaken to preserve or restore a presettlement natural community or a threatened or endangered species.

2)         Plant succession control measures may be undertaken as provided in the master plan or management schedule.  Control measures shall be applied with caution and only to such part of the area as is necessary.  Control measures shall be undertaken only with prior observation and study  of the area and with scientific evidence of necessity.  Control measures shall be followed by observation and reporting of results.  The master plan or management schedule may allow employment of prescribed burning, mowing, grazing, cutting of shrubs and trees, girdling of trees, hand-pulling or cutting of invasive herbaceous species, application of herbicide as specified, and other management practices to alter plant succession.

3)         Vegetation may be managed as specified in the master plan or management schedule.  Allowable practices include but are not limited to the following:

A)        Plant species not native to the site or vicinity may be eliminated by cutting, girdling, grubbing, or basal or foliar application of specified herbicide;

B)        The use of prescribed burning in fire-maintained communities so long as the time of burning during the year, the frequency of burning, and the fractional amount of the area that may be burned each year has been reviewed and approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 4000.435;

C)        Invading native woody species may be eliminated or controlled by cutting, girdling, grubbing, or basal application of specified herbicide.

b)         Control of noxious species

            Species of plants and animals which are noxious in fact or law (Illinois Noxious Weed Act, 8 Ill. Adm. Code 220) shall be controlled as provided in the master plan or management schedule.

c)         Control of exotic species

1)         Control of exotic plants may be undertaken  by control of plant succession or other management practices as provided in subsection (a) of this Section.

2)         Control of exotic animals may be undertaken as provided in the master plan or management schedule.

d)         Control of natural populations

            There shall be no action to increase or reduce populations of native plants or animals or to restrict movement across boundaries of a preserve, except for the purposes of controlling an animal overpopulation that is altering the natural character of the preserve, or to restore degraded natural communities as provided in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section.  Any such measures to be applied must be in accordance with the master plan or management schedule.

e)         Management of endangered and threatened species and species of management concern

1)         Habitat manipulations and protective measures in favor of particular species shall be undertaken only as provided in the master plan, management schedule, or as approved by the Commission after consultation  with the Department and the Endangered Species Protection Board.   Approval will be based upon evaluation of generally accepted management practices or upon a proposal submitted to the Commission which describes the proposed activities, species' life history and habitat requirements, and characteristics and objectives of the preserve.

2)         Control of plant succession in favor of particular species shall be as provided in subsection (a) of this Section.

f)         Introduction of plants and animals

            No plants or animals or their reproductive bodies shall be brought into a nature preserve or moved from one place to another within a preserve except for the purposes of restoring degraded natural communities to the extent they are historically known or protecting or enhancing populations of endangered or threatened species.  Such introduction shall be carried out as provided in the master plan, management schedule, or pursuant to Section 4000.160.

(Source:  Added at 18 Ill. Reg. 2290, effective January 31, 1994)