The Palisades Preserve

The dramatic bluffs between Alton and Grafton, lllinios are renowned for their scenic beauty and views of downtown St. Louis. Now these bluffs and the ecologically significant lands on which they stand have been protected through the creation of the Pali­sades Preserve. Described as one of the best remaining examples of undisturbed, biologically important lands in Illinois, the pre­serve’s oak and hickory forests look much as they did one hundred years ago. The land is environmentally essential to the protection of eleven endangered or threatened species of plants and animals and is located in the largest flyway in North America for migrating birds. The unfragmented forest provides essential breeding habi­tat for a suite of songbirds. The preserve also contains an undis­turbed limestone cliff community and Native American Burial Grounds. This 430-acre parcel of bluff top land will be protected for environmental, scenic and educational purposes forever.