Dead Page- Part 4: Friend of the Illinois Prairie

DR. ROBERT F. BETZ 1923-2007

Friend of Illinois prairies

Died April 5, at his home.

Dr. Betz probably did more for restoring Illinois prairies than anyone else. The first settlers encountered mile after mile of this landform and made it their goal to turn it into farmland. Even today, one of Illinois' nicknames is "The Prairie State."

They succeeded admirably, so well, in fact, that by the 1950s, there was hardly any prairie left. Enter Dr. Betz, who, as a biology professor at Northeastern University, campaigned to have the acreage that the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Batavia, Illinois, was looking to turn over, restored as a prairie. This became the 1,200 acre Robert F. Betz Prairie.

He was also responsible for identifying and preserving prairie tracts including the Gensburg-Markham Prairie, the Wolf Road Prairie, the Santa Fe Prairie, the Hinsdale Prairie, and over 40 settler cemetery prairies. No doubt, he influenced the creation of the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie south of Joliet, Illinois, on the site of the old Joliet Arsenal. This, by the way, is located on old Route 66.

Quite a remarkable man who has done much to keep a part of Illinois' past for future generations.

Obituary in the Chicago Tribune, April 18, 2007. By Patricia Trebe.