A dedicated group of volunteers has kept Langham Island alive and vibrant for more than a decade.

It is more than just an avocation.

It’s what they do as a responsibility to secure the ecosystem of the 21-acre island on the Kankakee River in the middle of the Kankakee River State Park, just northwest of Bourbonnais.

“It’s a challenge, but I will say that I don’t know anyone that has ever done any conservation work that just didn’t feel good at the end of the day,” said Steve Bohan, one of a core group of volunteers that help sustain plant life on the island. “It just makes you feel good to be out there and doing something.”

The Friends of Langham Island meets weekly to help clear invasive species on the island that can choke out the plants, some of which are native to the island and to this part of Illinois and the Midwest.

The Friends of Langham Island began conservation efforts in 2014 to help clear the way for the Kankakee mallow, a native Illinois flower not found in the wild anywhere else on the planet, to flourish.

There are now more than 500 native plants that have been spotted and documented on Langham Island.

One specific plant that was located on Langham Island was the leafy prairie clover, spotted by Karen Horn, of Altorf, in July of 2025 on the northwest side of the island. She recalled discovering the native plant that hadn’t been seen in the area since 1873.

“I ran up the hill,” she said, still excited about the discovery.

“That was a plant that was known from a very early time on the island,” said Bohan, also of nearby Altorf. “A botanist found it. I think he found something like five or six plants, and he didn’t want to take them all, so he left one.

“But it was recognized early on. People recognized there were things here that weren’t at many places.”

For that discovery and their continued conservation work, the Friends of Langham Island are the Daily Journal’s 2025 Volunteer Citizens of the Year.

Native plants in danger

Horn noted that land for native plants has decreased because of development as well as invasive species.

“Basically what happens is, even if you preserve land and set it aside for nature, if it’s not actively maintained to reduce invasive pressure, … it will degrade any time,” said Molly Ulrich, of Kankakee.

Ulrich was part of the Friends of Langham Island that gathered this past Saturday in the Kankakee River State Park’s Visitor Center to discuss and celebrate the work done on the island. The below-zero temperature prohibited the group from crossing the ice-covered river to Langham Island that morning.

Bohan said the Illinois Department of Natural Resources cleared out Langham Island about 25 years ago, but didn’t have the money to maintain it and protect the native plants. It was originally set aside in 1966 as a nature preserve by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

“These invasive things, unless you really keep on them, they just come back and take over,” he said.

The Friends of Langham Island have filled that void, going on 12 years.

Also present on the bitterly cold day were Nathan Ulrich, Molly’s partner, Craig Goodwin, of Bourbonnais, Bohan, Horn, and Don and Espie Nelson, of Plainfield. The Friends also said Ryan Sorrells, a botanist, and John Sullivan are key volunteers.

Work must continue

They all recognize their work never ends.

“That’s kind of the challenge of this sort of work is that it basically is maintenance into perpetuity,” Molly Ulrich said.

Bohan said there is always going to be resprouts of the invasive shrubs.

“Then we also take seeds from the rare plants and see if we can spread them farther out on the island to make sure that they have a good base for propagation,” he said.

Molly Ulrich and Espie Nelson pointed out that Langham Island is a great spot for birding as well. Deer have been spotted on the island, and, of course, a plethora of insects.

“It’s [the plants’] habitat, but also because of the relationships with specialist insects,” Ulrich said. “If you’re an insect that specializes on only one kind of plant, and that plant grows extinct, that insect also goes extinct. For me that’s kind of why the conservation of the plants is so important because they’re kind of like the foundation of all the other ecosystems.”

The Friends also gave a shout-out to Trevor Edmonson, of Limestone, who was instrumental in the group’s early work. Edmonson, who now works for The Nature Conservancy at the Kankakee Sands office in Newton County, Ind., also was previously a columnist for the Daily Journal. He often wrote about native plants and the work on Langham Island.

“He was really instrumental at the beginning,” Bohan said. “He was such an important part early on.”

The Friends also have a mailing list of about 150, and those interested can email langhamisland@gmail.com and follow the Friends of Langham Island on Facebook at facebook.com/LanghamIsland for future volunteer events and updates.

On work days they’ve had as many as 30 to 40 show up, but it’s usually around eight people participating.

“Obviously, we would always love to grow the group, especially those who can come regularly,” Bohan said. “The big challenge in all conservation work is getting young people involved, because they typically have a lot less time and a lot more responsibilities than retired folks.”