Guest Contribution by Sam Stearns, Friends of Bell Smith Springs

Devil's Backbone Bell Smith Springs

Devil's Backbone Bell Smith Springs

I have been visiting Bell Smith Springs since before I was born. My mother used to tell me how she visited the shady canyon in the summer before my birth, wading the pools and soaking her feet in the cool water. My earliest memories are of watching tadpoles in the rock basins above a little waterfall there. Some of my most pleasant recent memories include lazing around those same pools, contemplating a new generation of tadpoles. Their lives and mine are inextricably intertwined and will continue to be so. I appreciate now the privilege I took for granted as a child.

Bell Smith Springs is an essential destination for anyone interested in native ecology and local history. It is designated a National Natural Landmark by the US Park Service, a Natural Area by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, and a recreation area by the US Forest Service. This gorgeous canyon and its surrounding watershed have been studied by scientists and enjoyed by visitors for generations. Untold thousands of citizens have visited this piece of public property through the years to observe the rare phenomenon of interconnected, complete, functioning ecosystems.

There are four creeks which come together in the canyon at Bell Smith Springs; and even when the creeks are parched there are a dozen ice-cold spring-fed pools that never go dry. The unique hydrology of the canyon contributes to its vegetative diversity: over 700 species of plants flourish at Bell Smith Springs. Native Americans utilized the canyon for its abundant water and huge shelter bluffs. Early settlers farmed the ridge tops, grazed livestock on the hillsides, and harnessed one stream to power a gristmill. Massive trees of the virgin forest were felled during this time. The cougar, wood bison, bear, elk, and many other species which once drank from the pools have long since been extirpated. But bobcat, turkey, deer, fox, a plethora of songbirds and other animals are still glimpsed at Bell Smith Springs.

The rugged, isolated topography of parts of the canyon serve as a repository for species that have disappeared from many other places. The netted chain fern is found in upland areas of the watershed, its fruiting bodies rising above the foliage. Pale, greenish, spongy-looking tufts of sphagnum moss line the sides of some north-facing slopes. Rosy blooms of the flower-of-the-hour appear in arid patches, display their short-lived beauty, and then wither away within a couple of hours. The rare French’s shooting star occur in drip lines of the bluffs. Alder trees tap their roots deep in the cold soil adjacent to spring pools. There are lichen grasshoppers, endangered crayfish, and unusual minnows that inhabit the cliffs, rocks, and pristine water.

During the decades that these hills and hollows have been protected as public land, natural regeneration has restored much of the area’s biological diversity. Pine plantations on the ridge tops now nurse a diverse understory of native oaks, hickory, and other hardwoods. Continued protection and respect for the land will insure its survival for future generations. My own daughter has a deeper appreciation of Bell Smith Springs than I do. I grew up thinking that the tadpoles I observed were part of a food chain that culminated with human beings at the top. My daughter realizes that those tadpoles are part of a complex web of life, the intricacies of which are sometimes too subtle for us to understand fully. Bell Smith Springs will continue to be a nurturing classroom as long as we are humble enough to listen to the lessons that it has to offer.

Sam Stearns lives with his wife and daughter near Bell Smith Springs in the central part of the Shawnee Forest, and has been a strong voice for many years for the protection of the forest. He is the founder of Friends of Bell Smith Springs, an organization that promotes the protection and conservation of the area. Sam is a hiker and forest watcher who loves to share his “backyard” with folks who share his love and appreciation of the land.

Photo Credit: Sam Stearns

Hike Bell Smith Springs

Join Prairie Rivers Network, Friends of Bell Smith Springs and Heartwood for a hike at Bell Smith Springs on Sunday, May 30 from 2:30 to 5:30. More information…