Copyright Chicago Tribune
The Forest Preserve District of Will County has acquired nearly 500 acres in eastern Will County that expands the Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve to 1,386 acres, making it the district’s second largest preserve. The district recently bought 495.27 acres of land north of Illinois 394 and adjacent to the Goodenow Grove preserve in Crete Township for $4.3 million. “It’s not too frequently a forest preserve or conservation foundation has the opportunity to acquire that much acreage,” said Dave Robson, the district’s natural resource management supervisor. “That’s a pretty unusual occurrence. We make acquisitions all the time, but not at this scale. This is a huge win.” The acreage, known as the Book family property, is the district’s second largest property acquisition in its nearly 100 year history, behind the 1991 purchase at Lake Renwick Preserve in Plainfield, officials said. The district buys land for a myriad of reasons, Robson said, including recreational use, trail connections or areas with high ecological values. “This one checks all the boxes of the forest preserve’s wishes and desires,” he said. The district has eyed this parcel since the 1970s. District officials will next spend time studying the land and mapping out its features, figuring out where there are sensitive areas and determining if there are any threatened or endangered plant or animal species, Robson said. The Goodenow Grove preserve protects a diversity of habitats, including forest, prairies and wetlands, as well as several state-threatened or endangered animals, such as the Kirtland’s snake, and state-threatened or endangered plants, such as the spotted coral-root orchid and ear-leafed foxglove, officials said. The newly purchased land is mostly undisturbed except for farming and agricultural use, Robson said. The land also contains glacially-carved moraines likely formed 11,000 to 15,000 years ago, he said. Public education is a big component of the district’s mission, and there likely will be future education programs or interpretive signage outlining the rich geological history, Robson said. The property also features the headwaters of Plum Creek and will further the 3,300-acre Plum Creek Greenway preservation program that began in 1938. Will County works in cooperation with the Forest Preserves of Cook County to create an unbroken corridor of green space along Plum Creek, Robson said. The exact future use of the newly acquired land will not be known until it is studied, but it has great recreational and ecological value, Robson said. There could be areas for public access, trails or picnic shelters, restoration work and a chance to help protect threatened species. The parcel could also be used to extend the Vincennes Trail, which is on an old abandoned rail line and is used, in part, as an equestrian trail, Robson said. “First and foremost, we are charged with protecting the environment and being good to nature,” Robson said. The biggest decision to buy and protect the land in perpetuity has already been completed, he said. Forest preserve board vice president Judy Ogalla, who represents eastern Will County on the Will County Board, said the area has a unique landscape. With the rise of development and solar facilities, it is “wonderful for eastern Will County” to see this land preserved. “It’s a great benefit to the people,” Ogalla said. The district’s purchase is part of its $50 million Capital Improvement Program designed to preserve open space before it is lost to development. The district has budgeted $25 million towards land acquisition with a goal to protect 1,100 acres. The district has bought 747 acres inducing this purchase, officials said. Land for the Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve was first bought in 1938. The preserve features trails for hiking, running, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and horseback riding. It also includes picnic shelters to rent, nine primitive campsites, a 40-foot sledding hill and a visitor center that offers nature education programs. Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
