PRESERVING AND RESTORING LAKE COUNTY’S FUTURE In the general election on November 5, 2008, Lake County voters approved a referendum of $185 million to support the mission and vision of their Lake County Forest Preserves. The referendum provided $148 million to purchase between 2,500 and 3,000 acres of land to expand existing preserves and create new open spaces. The balance of $37 million provided funds to complete trails, open new preserves, restore habitat for endangered wildlife and plants, and improve and renovate existing preserves and facilities. Now, nearly a decade later, it’s time to check in and report what value those funds have brought to Lake County.
ROLLINS SAVANNA
The Lake County Forest Preserve District
has a clear mission, set forth in the 1913 Illinois Downstate Forest Preserve District Act. This organizing statute states that we “… acquire and hold lands … for the purpose of protecting and preserving the flora, fauna, and scenic beauties within such district, and to restore, restock, protect and preserve the natural forests and such lands … in their natural state and condition, for the purpose of education, pleasure, and recreation.” For nearly 60 years, the Lake County Forest Preserves has held true to that mandate, and now protects nearly 31,000 acres for public benefit and enjoyment.
HOW LUCKY! Whenever you walk on a trail through a lovely woodland or across a meadow in a forest preserve, the first thought that might occur is simply, “how lucky!” How lucky to live in a place where open land is so accessible, and where the towns and villages are buffered by the green spaces that give Lake County its rural feel, though over 700,000 people call it home. It is lucky, but it is also planning, plus the confidence Lake County citizens place in their Forest Preserves. In a 2016 Countywide Attitude and Interest Survey, residents named the Lake County Forest Preserves as the most trusted local government, and gave us a whopping 76 percent positive esteem rating. It’s hard to even think of Lake County without its emerald necklace of forest preserves. What you may not think of, as you walk that beautiful trail, are the key ecosystem services that forest preserves contribute to Lake County’s quality of
SUCCESS BY THE NUMBERS At the time of the 2008 referendum, we managed 26,840 acres of land. Today, we manage 30,856 acres. We promised voters that referendum dollars would enable the purchase of between 2,500 and 3,000 acres of new land. The economic downturn in 2009 caused land prices to decline, enabling us to make referendum dollars go further and add 4,015 acres for the public, well exceeding expectations. In addition, $4.4 million of land acquisition funds remain, which will allow us to continue to add to our holdings. In the same decade, with referendum dollars, we built over 14 miles of new trails, extended regional trail systems and completed several community trail connections. Today, we manage and maintain 205 miles of trails on forest preserve land across the county. Referendum dollars have also made possible the planning of 6.2 miles of additional trails ready for construction in the near future. The crown jewel of our trail system is the 31.4-mile Des Plaines River Trail (DPRT), completed in 2015 after 54 years in the making. The DPRT provides a protected river corridor and an unbroken greenway along the Des Plaines River that spans the entire length of the county—from Russell Road just south of the Wisconsin border to Lake Cook Road. Referendum dollars enabled us to open two completely new preserves, Hastings Lake (Lake Villa) and Pine Dunes (Antioch), which together total 1,137 acres. Pine Dunes provides an excellent example of what was made possible by 2008 referendum funds. It is one of five preserves and one state natural area that comprise a 5,300-acre greenway in northern Lake County near the Wisconsin border. Described by natural resource experts as “some of the finest rolling topography in the region,” Pine Dunes features a pristine mix of prairie, savanna, and oak-hickory woodlands, as well as streams, marshes, sedge meadows, vernal ponds, and other wetland communities vital for ecosystem health.
life and economy: • FLOOD STORAGE • IMPROVED AIR QUALITY • HABITAT SUPPORT FOR FRAGILE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES • GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT • SOIL EROSION MITIGATION • POLLINATION SUPPORT • CARBON SEQUESTRATION (STORING OF GREENHOUSE GASES) • RECREATION • EDUCATION HASTINGS LAKE
ENSURING THE PUBLIC TRUST
PICTURING THE FUTURE In a county as dynamic and populated as ours, there has long been pressure and strong public support to acquire
66% of voters approved a $55 million referendum
land to provide open space for public use. Referendum dollars have enabled us to do just that. But acquisition is just
1993
the first step. Land management has to follow closely behind.
2000
52% of voters approved an Operations and Maintenance referendum
2008
With 2008 referendum dollars, 3,670
1999
acres of invasive plants have been cleared, including European buckthorn that is choking Lake County’s woodlands. Our crews conducted
61% of voters approved a $30 million referendum
controlled burns on 24,760 acres. A further 2,440 acres have been sown with native seed, and 31,200 native
2002 67% of voters approved an $85 million referendum
66% of voters approved a $185 million referendum
trees planted. A cornerstone project is the Woodland Habitat Restoration Project in Wright Woods (Mettawa) and Ryerson Woods (Riverwoods), which
NUMBER OF PRESERVES
2017 2008 1993
seeks to improve the health of our imperiled oak woodlands. The project will restore light transmission by 30–50
1993 41
2008 57
percent, increase oak regeneration, restore the abundance and diversity of native shrubs and plants, and, ultimately, create a mosaic of habitats. Tree management alone—the effort to
205
MILES OF TRAILS 76
keep woodlands healthy—is a massive, sustained undertaking. For thousands
150
of years, cultures throughout the world
2017 65
have managed forests, for immediate use but with an eye to the future. The term sustainability in the forestry context was first used in 1713 in Sylvicultura Oeconomica. In 1804,
40
TOTAL ACREAGE
2008 REFERENDUM
forester Georg Ludwig Hartig, writing about managing forests for timber production, stated that this effort had to bear in mind “future generations so that a fair distribution of interests
30
30,856 26,840
20
In Lake County today, we are indeed
$143,552,793 SPENT
10
x 1000
lucky to have the resource of nearly 31,000 acres of forest preserve land, and yet luck actually had nothing to
MILLION
18,954
between the present and future … will come true.”
$ 185
1993
2008
2017
42 land purchases, adding 4,015 acres. $4,447,207 left for land buys.
$37,000,000 SPENT
12 habitat and 27 trail and preserve projects.
do with it. It is thanks to the people of Lake County, who voted to fund the
USING 2008 REFERENDUM FUNDS
Lake County Forest Preserve District by referendum in November 1958— 60 years ago—and who voted in five referendums from 1993 to 2008 to trust
3,670 24,760 2,440 31,200
us with public dollars to responsibly
ACRES OF INVASIVE
ACRES TREATED WITH
ACRES SOWN WITH
NATIVE TREES
grow and expertly manage that land.
PLANTS CLEARED
CONTROLLED BURNS
NATIVE SEED
PLANTED
CUBA MARSH With referendum dollars and thousands of hours from Forest Preserve volunteers, we cleared invasive species from 225 acres of oak woodlands, savanna, prairie, and wetlands. Citizens for Conservation provided additional volunteer support, native seed, and a grant to reintroduce wildlife.
DES PLAINES RIVER Three low-head dams made recreation hazardous, prevented movement of aquatic life, and degraded water quality. With $130,000 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers we removed the dams, creating a free-flowing river through Lake County.
ETHEL’S WOODS With $1.9 million in federal grants and $5 million in bond funds, we are restoring 1.5 miles of North Mill Creek. When the stream channel is regraded and planted with native species, water quality will improve, aquatic life will return, and the naturalized flood plain will improve stormwater management.
FORT SHERIDAN Working with the City of Lake Forest, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, and Openlands, we provided $2.6 million in bond dollars and
LEVERAGE
leveraged $12 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore 2 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, bluffs, dunes, and ravines.
GRANT WOODS
is not a buzz word for the Forest Preserves—it’s been the name of the game this past decade.
With a $620,000 private donation, we are restoring nearly 200 acres—clearing invasive species and planting native seed, shrubs, and trees across wetlands, oak woodlands, and stream habitats.
GRASSY LAKE With $12.5 million in bond dollars, we added 110 acres overlooking Fox River and 2.3 miles of new trails. Dozens of donors contributed nearly $400,000 to complete restoration on the new property, while elsewhere in the preserve, Forest Preserve and Citizens for Conservation volunteers work year-round to clear invasive species, and plant native seed, plugs and trees.
GREENBELT Using $126,000 in bond dollars, we leveraged two grants totaling $125,000 to clear dense buckthorn thickets, and plant native seed, shrubs, and trees across 50 acres around the Greenbelt Cultural Center.
LAKEWOOD AND RAY LAKE With $850,000 in bond funds, we matched a $615,000 private donation and $330,000 from Openlands to restore 336 acres. To the north of the preserve, $9.5 million in bond funds leveraged a $1 million Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grant to acquire 338 acres of wetlands, open water, and prairie.
LYONS WOODS Partnering with the City of Waukegan and Waukegan Park District, $350,000 in bond dollars leveraged a $1.4 million federal grant to connect Lyons Woods to Waukegan Savanna via a 2.3-mile trail.
MIDDLEFORK BRIDGE The City of Lake Forest, Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest Bank & Trust, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein together donated $325,000 to construct a 221-foot bridge over the Metra tracks. We also dedicated $512,000 in bond funds and a $2 million federal grant to build the bridge, which will ultimately connect Middlefork Savanna to the Des Plaines River Trail.
MIDDLEFORK SAVANNA A pilot project to eradicate buckthorn across 2,900 acres of Forest Preserve and private lands has attracted major support. To date, every bond dollar has been matched by 10 dollars in donations—a total of $1.28 million—to clear buckthorn across property boundaries in the pilot area.
PINE DUNES When the Illinois Tollway was looking for a landscape to restore as mitigation for an expansion project, we were ready. We invested $10 million to purchase 318 acres near the Wisconsin border. With an additional $9 million from the Tollway, Pine Dunes opened in 201 5, with parking, 2.6 miles of new trails, overlooks, and 315 acres of restored prairie, savanna and wetlands.
ROLLINS SAVANNA With $970,000 in bond dollars, we secured a $1.7 million federal grant for a trail crossing under Rollins Road, a critical connection in the planned 41-mile Millennium Trail. Since 2008, three other trail underpasses have been completed, using $2.24 million in bond funds to leverage $5.6 million in grants.
SINGING HILLS AND KETTLE GROVE We are restoring Monahan Lake and a calcareous fen at Singing Hills, and Sargent Marsh and woodlands at Kettle Grove, with a $500,000 donation from one private donor.
SPRING BLUFF Along the Lake Michigan shore, Spring Bluff is part of a 4,500-acre complex of globally important dune and swale habitat. Ten land management agencies on both sides of the state line work together to manage this landscape. Partners have invested more than $2 million and leveraged $4.5 million in grant funding. The project has received international recognition as a RAMSAR wetland.
VAN PATTEN WOODS Nearly $1 million in bond dollars was matched by a $200,000 state of Illinois grant to connect the start of the Des Plaines River Trail to the Millennium Trail at Pine Dunes.
About the Lake County Forest Preserves
As principal guardian of Lake County’s open space and natural areas since 1958, we protect nearly 31,000 acres of land and offer innovative educational, recreational and cultural opportunities for all people. Visitors of all ages can enjoy over 205 miles of trails for a variety of outdoor recreation uses, ponds and lakes for fishing, public golf courses, historical and cultural venues, public access to Lake Michigan and the Fox River, and award-winning nature and history education programs and events. Facilities of special interest include the Dunn Museum in Libertyville (opening early spring 2018), Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods, Independence Grove in Libertyville, and ThunderHawk Golf Club in Beach Park.
THE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
is the charitable partner of the Lake County Forest Preserves. It supports the growth,
development and sustainability of our region’s natural lands and cultural heritage. The Preservation Foundation drives the mission of the Forest Preserves by responsibly directing funds to projects and programs that might otherwise go unfunded or take many years to complete. When you support the Preservation Foundation, you nourish your Lake County Forest Preserves so that they might not merely exist, but grow and thrive. Learn more at LCFPD.org/donate or call 847-968-3110.
2016–2018 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRESIDENT
District 9
District 21
Mary Ross Cunningham, Waukegan
Ann B. Maine, Lincolnshire VICE PRESIDENT
District 1 Linda Pedersen, Antioch TREASURER
District 12 S. Michael Rummel, Lake Forest ASSISTANT TREASURER
District 6 Jeff Werfel, Grayslake District 2 Diane Hewitt, Waukegan District 3 Tom Weber, Lake Villa District 4 Brent Paxton, Zion District 5 Judy Martini, Fox Lake District 7 Steve Carlson, Gurnee District 8
Chuck Bartels, Mundelein
2
3
District 11 Paul Frank, Highland Park
Sandy Hart, Lake Bluff
5
District 14
9
6 16
Vance Wyatt, North Chicago
13
District 15
14
15
Carol Calabresa, Libertyville
10
District 16 Terry Wilke, Round Lake Beach
8
7
District 13
21
17
18
District 17
12
Michael Danforth, Lake Barrington District 18 Aaron Lawlor, Vernon Hills District 19 Craig Taylor, Lake Zurich District 20 Sidney Mathias, Buffalo Grove
Bill Durkin, Waukegan
Connect with us Subscribe to our quarterly Horizons magazine for news, feature articles, and a calendar of programs and events. Sign up online at LCFPD.org/Horizons, by phone at 847-968-3335, or by email at Horizons@LCFPD.org. To receive one of our e-newsletters, visit LCFPD.org/newsletter.
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District 10
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YOUR FOREST PRESERVE LANDS
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