Lake County Forest Preserve District considers 75-acre addition to Pine Dunes
A proposed expansion of the Pine Dunes Forest Preserve in northern Lake County is expected to play a key role in potential trail connections and provide other benefits.
The Lake County Forest Preserve District on Tuesday will vote on the acquisition of two properties that would add 75 acres to the preserve near Wadsworth in Newport Township. While they are on opposite sides of the preserve, the properties would allow the district to enhance restoration efforts and provide access for recreational uses.
In a separate but related matter, work continues on a $9.3 million project by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to build trails and other features at Pine Dunes.
At 60 acres, the larger parcel on the west side of Route 41, south of Russell Road, is one that has been long sought by the forest district.
"This is a very important addition. We don't get many opportunities like this," executive director Ty Kovach said of the pending $1.98 million acquisition.
Known as the SMD property, the vacant parcel is adjacent to the 797-acre Pine Dunes preserve to the west and south. It will serve as a "visual, topographic and ecologic extension" of the preserve and play a "critical role" for trail connections and the ability to offer trail corridors and recreational uses in that part of the county, according to the district.
The acquisition allows for greater restoration at this preserve, while also allowing for a safer trail connection across Route 41, said Jim Anderson, director of natural resources.
Randy Seebach, director of planning and land preservation, said a truck fueling facility had at one time been considered but now there is potential to restore the 60 acres by removing drain tiles. The property is adjacent to a portion of Pine Dunes where the tollway work is ongoing and provides an opportunity to expand that ecological restoration, he added.
While the rolling terrain is scenic, Pines Dunes has access only to a man-made pond for fishing and there are no formal trails or other amenities. That will change by later this year.
Tollway directors in 2013 entered into a partnership with the forest district to restore and expand access to the Des Plaines River Trail on 315 acres of Pine Dunes east of Hunt Club Road. The improvements include 2.6 miles of trails, four boardwalks, three scenic overlooks, a 25-car parking lot and 286 acres of land restoration. The restoration includes creation of 80 acres of wetland by the tollway as mitigation for the Elgin-O'Hare western access project, Seebach said.
The public access and trails are about 70 percent complete, with an anticipated opening in late fall, according to Anderson. At some point, the district intends to connect Pine Dunes and Van Patten Woods by trail. The wetland work will continue into next year, followed by a five-year monitoring period.
The second parcel, 15 acres known as the Kinney property, abuts State Line Road on the south east of North Crawford Road and is bounded on the east, west and south by Pine Dunes. The $470,000 acquisition would make the district boundaries more regular and contiguous and increase the potential for trail connections, according to Kovach.