[BCNnet] Report: FPDCC board meeting great all around

[Benjamin Cox]

The tenor of today's March Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board
Meeting was decidedly upbeat and so was the agenda. Land was acquired, new
acreage was leased, volunteers and a new brochure were celebrated, a new
bike trail was approved, $1 million moved a step closer to being dedicated
to the land acquisition account, a fen received support for funding, and a
prairie received more protection.

 

The District previously approved the purchase of ~89 acres of buffer land
for Bluff Spring Fen in the Northwest portion of the County. Now, ownership
of the 77-acre Fen itself is being transferred from the Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District to the Forest Preserve District. The net gain to the
District is 166 acres. 

 

The District is leasing some 44 acres in Lemont from the Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District. The lease is for 39 years and will cost $10. The land
makes a connection between Forest Preserve land to the river.

 

Kent Fuller, Master Steward at Miami Woods, along with a group of 18 8th
graders from Chicago City Day School presented their annual report to the
Board today. The report was received with great accolades from many Board
members, including President John Stroger, who all noted the great value
that the volunteers bring to the District. They were especially grateful
that this program involved inner-city students and encouraged more efforts
such as these. 

 

Erma Tranter, President of Friends of the Parks, presented a new brochure
entitled "Ten City Escapes: Easy day trips on public transportation to
nearby Cook County Preserves." Again, praise was heaped on the brochure,
produced in collaboration with Friends of the Forest Preserves, Chicago Area
Mountain Bikers, and the Forest Preserve District. General Superintendent
Steve Bylina was praised by Tranter for opening the door and setting the
stage for collaborative efforts such as these.

 

The Forest Preserve District is involved with a partnership with the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the City of Des Plaines to
assist in bridging the gap in the District's Des Plaines River 21 mile trail
system form Lake-Cook Road to North Avenue. Through an Intergovernmental
Agreement the IDNR will build a bicycle trail on District property and will
incorporate bike lanes in the reconstruction of J.J. Schwabb Camp Ground
Road. The District will not spend any money on the trail and Des Plaines
will be responsible for maintenance.

 

Commissioners Mike Quigley, Forrest Claypool, and Larry Claypool introduced
a resolution that is being sent to the Finance Committee that would
designate to the land acquisition account the recently "found" $1 million in
back fees for utility easements. 

 

The District will be submitting a $73,000 C2000 grant proposal to improve
17-acres of Dan McMahon Fen. The project would benefit many species
including the Hine's emerald dragonfly, black dash butterfly, and dion
skipper butterfly. $23,000 represents an in-kind match of District staff and
volunteer time and equipment usage.

 

The streets and alleys in the District portion of Wolf Road Prairie, which
were platted back 1925 but were never developed, were vacated in a move to
further protect the Prairie from surrounding development. Now a neighboring
developer will have great difficulty accessing its land where, if
development took place, hydrological impacts would directly impact the
globally rare black dirt prairie.   

 

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

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

benjamin at fotfp.org

 

 

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