The Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards began their work in 1989 as a joint effort between the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois, The Nature Conservancy, and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.The group has been working actively in the years since to return native plant communities to the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. Native tallgrass prairie and woodland communities are making a reappearance on this former farm site thanks to the dedication of the stewards.