Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and McHenry County Conservation District (MCCD) are hosting a FREP meeting at Lost Valley Visitor Center at Glacial Park at noon on Wednesday, June 11th. The meeting will feature Nippersink Creek restoration projects initiated by MCCD and an adjoining wetland restoration project ($975,000) awarded to Friends of Hackmatack NWR by Congresswoman Underwood. Learn about FREP’s role in securing this funding!!

Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge is this Nation’s 561st National Wildlife Refuge and was formally established In 2012. This bi-State Refuge, consisting of four large core areas capable of supporting habitat-restricted grassland and wetland birds and connecting corridors along both branches of Nippersink Creek, calls for protection of approximately 11,000 acres. Since the Refuge’s establishment, over 3000 acres have been pre-acquired by the Hackmatack Land Protection Partners. Of that total, over 700 acres as been conveyed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Refuge. The most notable acquisition – completed in 2024 – was the 985-acre Tamarack Farms. This acquisition, the single largest conservation purchase in NE Illinois since 1996, connects Glacial Park with the North Branch (sites owned by MCCD) creating the third largest conservation macrosite (at 6000 acres) in the Chicagoland Region.