She would recall the open spaces that existed before the growth of woodland and cornfield subdivisions. She was only a few generations away from seeing this land in a state and time when only native Americans had altered the landscape. The only connections to what the landscape looked like in earlier times are from stories from the elders and little postage stamp areas that groups or individuals protected for future generations. Although the wilderness of northern Illinois is gone forever the wildness can still be found. There are places without trails, words and traffic noise, much as my grandma would relate from earlier times.
People still speak of compromising wild lands.
If we could see the land in the late 1800's and compare it with current days, it would be obvious to all that too much has already been compromised. There are many reasons why native landscapes should be preserved. A quote I recently received brings a new light on the issue for me. The following is a story from a visit to one of those uncompromised pieces of land. It is located in a local forest preserve and is a barometer to where we have come from.