Friends of the Bluff Spring Fen (FBSF) is the group of volunteers who manage and restore the nature preserve. We work under the auspices of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and our land owners, the City of Elgin and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Many of our volunteers have received additional training through the Volunteer Stewardship Network of The Nature Conservancy of Illinois.

FBSF consists of a head steward - Leon Halloran, 3 co-stewards - Doug Taron, Rick Manner, and Mel Manner, and a small, but dedicated, group of volunteers who work under the guidance of the co-stewards. We hold volunteer workdays on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, year-round. We do weed control, seed collecting and spreading, and invasive brush and tree removal. Some of our volunteers are also members of monitoring networks and monitor butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and endangered plants. You are welcome to come join our group on any of the workdays. The best way to learn restoration is to join us on our workdays and ask lots of questions. After all, that's how most of us learned.

FBSF has been in existence since 1980 when restoration started at Bluff Spring Fen. We incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization in 2006 to allow us to accept tax-deductible donations and apply for grants to help fund our restoration work. We have a Board of Directors consisting of the 4 co-stewards and most of our active volunteers. Meetings are held twice a year in February and July, and they are open to the public.

For more information about FBSF, our restoration work, or our board meetings, contact Rick or Mel Manner at bluffspringfen@sbcglobal.net or 847-464-4426.