Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie office closing until January

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie supervisor’s office in Wilmington, including the welcome center, will temporarily close starting Monday.

During this time, the prairie office will undergo extensive maintenance to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, according to a news release from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

The offices are scheduled to reopen Jan. 27, 2025, according to the release.

“We had hoped to be able to update the system without closing the entire supervisor’s office,” Christina Henderson, Midewin NTP’s prairie supervisor, stated in the release. “Unfortunately, with the nature and the extent of the work that needs to be done, that isn’t possible.”

The current HVAC system’s was unable to regulate the temperature during the winter months of 2024, resulting in frozen pipes that eventually broke, according to the release.

“We’ve seen over the last few years that our HVAC system simply couldn’t keep up with the extremely cold days in the winter, and the hot days in the summer,” Henderson said in the release. “For the health and safety of our staff and our partners, this overhaul of the system has to be done.”

Midewin NTP trailheads, trails and hunting areas will remain open during this time.

However some of the educational programming, that typically takes place in December and January – such as the winter lecture series – will be rescheduled to a later date, according to the release.

Midewin staff and partners will be assigned to alternate locations during the closure, according to the release.

For more information please contact the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Visitor Center at 815-423-6370, email SM.FS.Midewin_RSVP@usda.gov or visit fs.usda.gov/midewin.