In 1986, The Nature Conservancy, then looking for a large enough tract of land capable of supporting animals and a functional ecological process, purchased 267 acres of Prairie, just outside of Dixon, Illinois. Thirty three years later, their project became a 3,600 acre preserve, inhabited by and supporting over 100 bison.
In the words of Friends of the Nachusa Grasslands, the purpose of the preserve “is to protect and restore rare habitats and to serve as an influence, inspiration, and resource for other conservation partners, researchers, and the public.”
In late 2014, DMA joined the team of Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects P.C., exhibit designers Signature Design and Therese Huffman, and Wendler Engineering Services to conceptualize, design and provide construction documents for a new visitor-center and arrival pavilion at the Nachusa Grasslands in North Central Illinois.