[BCNnet] Wolf Road Project Opposed in Stroger Letter

Tue Feb 14 12:14:40 CST 2006

Hello,

I spoke with Valerie Spale at Wolf Road and the Westchester Village Manager.
Valarie is suggesting that she has commitments from the Village Board of
Trustees that they will not move on this tonight. This will give them time
to conduct studies to determine the hydrologic impact on the preserve if the
road is built, which will undoubtedly show that the preserve would be
impacted very adversely.   

I have also contacted the Forest Preserve District to determine where they
stand in the process of purchasing the buffer land that this road would give
access to. Valerie suggested that there is hope and noted that Cook County
Board President John Stroger wrote a letter opposing the project. I have
included a copy of the text of the letter below.

Best,

Benjamin Cox

Executive Director

Friends of the Forest Preserves

205 W. Monroe St., 4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60606-5013

o. (312) 696-0070

c. (773) 398-1178

 <http://www.fotfp.org/> www.fotfp.org

 <mailto:benjamin at fotfp.org> benjamin at fotfp.org

Forest Preserve District of Cook County

January 27, 2006

The Honorable Paul Gattuso

President of the village of Westchester

Westchester Village Hall

10300 Roosevelt Road

Westchester, IL 60154

Re: Westchester Golf and Saddle Club

Dear President Gattuso:

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is very concerned about the
Patric Greene Development's request for development of Forest Avenue and how
it will impact the Wolf Road Prairie Buffer. The District and its partners,
including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Nature
Preserves Commission and Save the Prairie Society, invested millions of
dollars of taxpayer funds and private contributions to save the ecosystem
and watershed of Wolf Road Prairie. 

The Forest Preserve received a grant in 2001 to purchase additional parcels
to add to the creation of the buffer. The District is still proceeding with
the acquisitions of the remaining three parcels.

The District is in the process of vacating the streets in the Wolf Road
Prairie. Allowing the wooded strip that protects the prairie to be used as a
road would be in conflict with the preservation and protection of one of the
rarest ecosystems on earth. Salt and other pollutants will impact the plants
and animals if this road is permitted to be built and become the access
route for this development. Should you have any questions, or need any
additional information, please contact Dr. Steven M. Bylina, Jr., the
General Superintendent of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. He
can be reached at 708-771-1511.

The District would be adversely impacted by the approval of this plan and
would desire a more favorable result of one of the most vital ecological
programs for the State of Illinois and Cook County. We urge you not to
approve the proposal made by Mr. Greene and view the Wolf Road Prairie as an
asset to the Village of Westchester.

Sincerely,

John H. Stroger, Jr. President

Forest Preserve District of Cook County

  _____  

From: vsn-stewards at yahoogroups.com [mailto:vsn-stewards at yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of BFisher928 at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 10:16 AM
To: BCNnet at ece.iit.edu; vsn-stewards at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vsn-stewards] Road being proposed to go through Wolf Road Prairie
in Westchester

Friends of Wolf Road Prairie just learned the Village of Westchester is
going to take action tonight on a proposal to build a road through Wolf Road
Prairie, for the benefit of a developer who wants to build a 28 home
development on the west side 'buffer zone' boundary of Wolf Road Prairie. 
The meeting of the Vilage Board is at the Westchester Village Hall at the
intersection of Roosevelt and Mannheim Rds at 7pm tonight (Tuesday Feb. 14).
Contact Rita McKay (phone only 708.354.5512) for more details The group is
hoping to get a large turnout of people who oppose this road building
project at tonight's meeting of the Westchester Village Board.
For many birders and people who treasure the outdoors here in the Chicago
area, Wolf Road Prairie is the place where we first saw and heard Am.
Woodcock courtship flights. This oasis in the midst of suburbia deserves
protection, not development. Please attend tonight's meeting in Westchester.

Regards
Bob Fisher
on behalf of the Bird Conservation Network Executive Committee
BFisher928 at aol.com
phone & fax 630 985 2956
http://bcnbirds.org/ 

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