Middle Rock Conservation acquires 11-acre forest plot in Grand Detour

DIXON – Land owners John and Arlene Hildebrand sold their 11-acre plot near Grand Detour to Middle Rock Conservation Partners, a transaction that was celebrated at a dedication Sunday, May 25.

The couple purchased the site at 2075 Grand Detour Road in Dixon about 40 years ago with the plan to develop it into a subdivision, but they never did. About a year ago, Middle Rock approached Arlene, who’s almost 92 now, about acquiring the property. They negotiated, and “the deal was struck,” Arlene’s daughter Susan Gould said in an interview with Shaw Local.

For Arlene, “conservation has always been a passion,” Gould said.

She was a teacher at East Coloma School in Rock Falls for 43 years, where she, along with her third-grade students, worked to restore the prairie behind the school. In 2002, she was named conservation teacher of the year by the Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District, Gould said.

The 11-acre site, now owned by Middle Rock, has been renamed the John and Arlene Hildebrand Natural Area. Middle Rock plans on clearing out invasive trees and plants such as honeysuckle to restore it to a natural forest area, Gould said.

“It’s a beautiful space that is now set aside for future generations to see what the natural forests in this area looked like,” she said.

Middle Rock, established in 2017 as a nonprofit organization, also owns the Samuel and Edna Hill Preservation Site – located along Route 2 between Lost Nation Road and Grand Detour Road. They purchased the more than 90-acre plot in 2019 and have since restored the land as a prairie that’s open to the community for hiking and other passive recreation, according to middlerockconservationpartners.org.

The new 11-acre site will connect to the prairie. It also will feature education opportunities for kids, where representatives will point out unique features and explain the cycles of plants and animals at the site, Gould said.

During the dedication, a Middle Rock representative pointed out the site’s “shooting star flowers” to the 30 family members and friends who attended the event, Gould said.

“They really were cool. When they come out, it looks like you’re walking through a forest of stars all along the ground,” Gould said.

For her own personal touch, Gould hid a couple of fairies and gnomes under some rocks and an upturned oak tree, “but I tried to keep it as natural as we could,” she said.