Metro-east nature preserve adds 1,000 acres thanks to conservation groups

A popular hiking spot and nature conservation area about 30 miles south of St. Louis in Illinois will soon expand its footprint by 965 acres after a trio of nonprofits recently acquired the nearby land.

With the purchase, the expanded White Rock Nature Preserve near Valmeyer in Monroe County will now be connected to another conservation area, Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve, for a total of 2,300 acres between the properties.

The nonprofits involved in one of the largest recent private land protection projects in southwest Illinois say the yearslong effort will not only triple the hiking area but also preserve an important habitat for endangered species and an important migratory bird route.

“There aren’t that many places left in Illinois, Missouri or the Midwest in general that are this big where you can achieve such a large conservation and environmental outcome in one single transaction,” said Jim Johannsen, Illinois state director for the Conservation Fund. “But size aside, it’s also just kind of a nexus where so many interesting outdoor values come together.”

The Conservation Fund purchased the land last week from private landowners, who’d been using the space for recreation, with financial backing from the Illinois Audubon Society. The Conservation Fund will manage the property for the next 18 months and then transfer it to the local conservation group Clifftop, which has owned White Rock since 2010.

“It’s pretty exciting from our perspective,” said Bob Weck, president of Clifftop, which owns three properties in Monroe, St. Clair and Randolph counties. “Having one large, continuous parcel has both management and ecological benefits.”

The nonprofits are not disclosing the exact sale price, which was in the seven figures and purchased at fair market value.

“Protecting any habitat is great, but when you can protect an unfragmented, continuous landscape, that’s really the icing on the cake,” said Jo Fessett, executive director of the Illinois Audubon Society. “We’re very excited.”

Clifftop has had a lengthy relationship with the previous landowners, who’d let the conservation group cross their land to manage their own. For at least a decade, Clifftop’s volunteers had hoped to one day buy the nearly 1,000 acres.

Now, the nonprofits’ leaders say they’re all excited to further explore the area and determine which threatened or endangered species live there. The site has rare snakes, like the Timber Rattlesnake and Flathead. There’s likely other species of reptiles and amphibians, too, Weck said.

Even though the purchase closed last week, the expansion will not be open to the public right away, and it could take a couple of years.

To get it ready, Clifftop will first turn its attention to restoring the hill prairie ecosystem. The area is full of invasive woody vegetation like cedar and dogwood trees, so the group will need to use controlled burns to restore the land, Weck said.

From there, Clifftop will need to map out a trail system, but that will be a bit of a challenge given how steep the area can be.

“It’s going to take us a little while to figure out where there’s a safe route where we can establish a trail system,” Weck said.

If the public wants to see the space sooner, they can see the full property by volunteering with Clifftop, which is also seeking donations to help manage the property long term.

“Getting some boots on the steep ground, doing some surveys and finding out what else is there will certainly help steer some of the restoration work that needs to be done,” Fessett said. “It just makes that place even more valuable.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 5:30 AM.