[BCNnet] BCNET: St. Coletta's Purchase Closer to Reality

[Birdchris@aol.com]

COS and BCN would like to thank everyone, especially Gail and Emil Biedron, 
for their work in persuading the Cook County Forest Preserve District to 
investigate the purchase of the 54-acre St. Coletta's property in Palos Park. 

The property is adjacent to Bergman Slough, the site of Illinois' only 
nesting Osprey, and is the object of a developer who wants to put a 
high-density sub-division on the site. The Osprey probably wouldn't tolerate 
the presence of so many nearby neighbors and the high-quality of this prairie 
slough likely would be negatively impacted by the run-off of lawn chemicals 
and compromised hydrology.

The Cook County Forest Preserve District on March 5 heard testimony from 
birders, ornithologists and activists, viewed a beautiful photo of an adult 
Osprey, and argued for a long time about being able to afford the property, 
but in the end, voted to seriously investigate all angles of purchasing the 
property. 

Money is tight in the county and at the state level for matching grants, but 
environmentalists are lobbying the Blagojevich administration to include 
reasonable levels of funding for the Illinois Open Land Trust in its budget 
and to introduce a bill to reauthorize the OLT. 

The Real Estate Committee of the CCFPD has been very inactive on the subject 
of land acquisition for some years, so while St. Coletta's hasn't been saved 
yet, an important first step was taken. 

Christine Williamson
Chicago/Cook
birdchris@aol.com