Exelon Corporation
Helm Road Prairie
Barrington, Illinois, United States
Certified through 2025
Project Name
Project Type
Helm Road Prairie
Grassland
About the Program
Exelon’s Helm Road Prairie is located at the Kane County - Cook County line in Barrington, Illinois, approximately 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The 4.4-acre remnant prairie is situated in a transmission right-of-way (ROW) and provides habitat for a rare and threatened species of orchid. The conservation goals are to preserve grassland by using monitoring data to inform management practices of invasive species in accordance with ComEd’s Prairie Standardization Plan. This project aligns with the Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan through management of invasive species and preserving native species.
Practices and Impacts
Exelon’s Helm Road Prairie is located at the Kane County - Cook County line in Barrington, Illinois, approximately 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The 4.4-acre remnant prairie is situated in a transmission right-of-way (ROW) and provides habitat for a rare and threatened species of orchid. The conservation goals are to preserve grassland by using monitoring data to inform management practices of invasive species in accordance with ComEd’s Prairie Standardization Plan. This project aligns with the Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan through management of invasive species and preserving native species.
Practices and Impacts
- The team collects monitoring data during the growing season. The most recent data collected in 2022 shows native plant species comprise 70% of identified plants within the project area, and species richness has increased by 10% from the 2019 baseline.
- The prairie qualified as “High Habitat Quality" under the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group Tier 3 pollinator scorecard.
