In 1987, Monk founded Heartland
Pathways (
prairiemonk.org/heartland
pathways
), a nonprofit organization dedi-
cated to prairie preservation. A year later,
Heartland Pathways purchased three sepa-
rate segments of unused rail corridor total-
ing 33 miles and more than 330 acres, and
encompassing many acres of valuable prairie
remnants. The goal: to create the Heartland
Pathways trail system and help preserve the
diversity of the grasslands that used to flour-
ish along the corridor. “At the time, it was
sort of outrageous to buy 33 miles of rail-
road bed,” Monk says.
The Heartland Pathways trail project
is located west of Champaign-Urbana,
directly opposite the Kickapoo Rail Trail.
The plan is eventually to connect the two,
though additional corridor would need to
be purchased before that could happen.
“The vision is to have the two trails—the
Heartland Pathways and the Kickapoo Rail
Trail—connect through the cities of Urbana
and Champaign,” Monk says.
According to Daniel J. Olson, executive
director of the Champaign County Forest
Preserve District (CCFPD) (
ccfpd.org
),
Monk was key to getting this ambitious
project started. “He really is a visionary.
He knew the rail line needed to be saved
to protect the prairies,” Olson says. “David
was instrumental in recognizing the value of
this land and in getting it, and he has been
working on it ever since.”
Project Status and Future
After 17 years of negotiations, the deal
for the Kickapoo Rail Trail finally closed
about a year ago. The Vermilion County
Conservation District (VCCD) (
vccd.org
)
recently received a $2.1 million grant from
the state of Illinois that will be used for the
first phase of trail development, building
a segment that will run from Oakwood to
Danville in Vermilion County. Funding
is being finalized for the second phase, a
segment in Champaign County that will
run from Urbana to St. Joseph. Planners
are hoping to break ground on both phases
sometime in 2016. The entire project is
expected to cost approximately $10 million
and be completed in six phases.
Ultimately, the Kickapoo trail will con-
nect several small towns, which should bene-
fit greatly from an influx of tourists and local
users. In fact, two villages already are prepar-
ing: St. Joseph has added a downtown wine
bar, where fundraising events have been held,
and Oakwood has a “trailside” ice cream and
sandwich shop that’s open for business.
According to Steve Buchtel, executive
director of Trails for Illinois (
trailsfor
illinois.org
), a trail advocacy nonprofit,
the potential for tourism in East Central
Illinois is high. “The world is in love with
rural Americana, but there’s no access to
that for most people,” he says. “What’s really
cool about trails like the Kickapoo and
Heartland Pathways is that they connect to
a lot of main streets and get people off the
interstates.”
David Monk has been
working for more than
30 years to preserve
the prairies of Illinois.
JARAD SMITH
CHRIS BUCHER
ELIZABETH STRIANO
rails
to
trails
u
winter.16
10
