Exner Marsh lies in a shallow glacial lake bed now entirely underlain by organic deposits and bordered by uplands consisting of both glacial till and outwash deposits. It is representative of the Morainal Section of the Northeastern Morainal Division. Emergent shallow water marsh is the dominant community punctuated throughout by shallow ponds. Cattails, bulrush and rice cut grass are the common plants of the marsh with white water lily, spatterdock and bladderwort the dominant plants of the shallow ponds. Calcareous floating mat community occupies a core of suspended peat and small scattered peat mats.
This community is related to the early stages of bog development. Wire sedge, blue joint, and marsh shield fern are the common plants. Exner Marsh has rich wetland bird community including migratory species which use the marsh as a staging ground during their spring and fall migration. Bluewing teal, sora, Virginia rail, king rail, least bittern, pied-billed grebe, common moorhen and yellow-headed blackbird can be found in the marsh. Black-crowned night-heron and great egret feed here. Prescribed burning and vegetation, fish and bird surveys are conducted to enhance and monitor the quality of the wetland.
Because this is an Illinois State Nature Preserve you must remain on the path and the boardwalk and do not pick or disturb any of the plants or animals you find. More information about Illinois Nature Preserves including the rules and regulations can be found here Illinois Nature Preserves.
To get credit for this EarthCache please message the following:
The marsh on this site is known as a hemi marsh. Most marshes consist mostly of solid vegetation, such as grasses, cattails and reeds. A hemi marsh has a more prominent feature most other marshes do not. It is because of this feature this site is home to many threatened and endangered species. While at this location, you are practically standing in this feature. What is this feature?
Take a walk along the trail and enjoy the varying views of this area. At N42 10.868 W88 22.815 and at N42 10.836 W88 22.813 you will find one common (non-natural, but made from natural material) feature at both of these locations, what is this feature?
Post a picture of your self with your GPS at the posted coordinates
McHenry County Conservation District Cache Your Way Across McHenry County GeoSeries
Geocaching is a high-tech “treasure hunting” game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS device. The general idea is to locate hidden containers called geocaches or simply caches. Once you find it, take a trinket and leave one of your own behind for the next person. Share your experiences through geoaching.com.
To participate in our program and earn a special District geo-coin, follow these simple steps.
- Download a McHenry County Conservation District Cache Your Way Across McHenry County GeoSeries Passport from our website
- Go to geocaching.com and create a login (it’s free for a basic membership!) and find the coordinates/info for the program.
- Start your search and locate a cache using a hand-held GPS unit. Our have official District labels.
- When you find a cache, log your name on the logbook inside. If you are participating in the program, be sure to write the answer to the question in your passport.
- A couple of the caches have travel bugs. Please move these bugs along and do not keep them! You will get your own to keep when you finish the program.
- Complete all the caches and bring your passport to one of our facilities to claim a coin! Be sure to check each facility’s hours at the location before heading to it! Hours and days open vary depending on site.
Prairieview Education Center
Lost Valley Visitor Center
Brookdale Administrative Offices
If you are unable to make it to a facility when it is open, you may also mail it to:
McHenry County Conservation District
Attn: Geocaching
2112 Behan Road
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Or e-mail a copy to geocaching@mccdistrict.org
Geocachers
Please join us in playing! All are welcome who observe and obey the rules. Please do not move or vandalize the container. Replace the cache in the same spot in like or better than you found it and when you leave, make sure the cache is completely covered. Please do not remove the informational card from the containers, this is a essential game piece for cachers completing the GeoSeries. The real treasure is just finding the container and sharing your thoughts with everyone who finds it.
District Geocaching Rules
For a complete list of rules, visit our website MCCDistrict.org/Geocache
McHenry County Conservation District Information
Visit our website at MCCDistrict.org or call 815-338-6223 ext 1211 for camping/shelters, 815-479-5779 for educational programs or 815-678-4532 for the Lost Valley Visitor Center
Photo Release
5/20/2021 Photos posted here may be featured on the McHenry County Conservation District's various social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram, and twitter, as well as our website (MCCDistrict.org) and print material such as Landscapes Magazine. By posting photos to this log you agree to allow us to share your work with our followers. Photographers will be acknowledged in any shares or posts of photos, so please include your name in your post if it is different from that of your username.