Two Lake County forest preserves to expand
Lake County Forest Preserve District officials plan to spend nearly $1 million to enlarge two neighboring preserves in the heart of the county.
The Lakewood and Ray Lake preserves, both of which are east of Wauconda near Route 176, are being eyed for expansion.
Adding land to both sites will allow the district to better manage the diverse environments there, said Ty Kovach, the forest district's executive director.
"We always look for opportunities to add onto existing preserves," Kovach said.
Officials are pursuing buying a roughly 20-acre site on Lakewood's north side and a 15-acre parcel on Ray Lake's southeast side.
The forest board's land preservation and acquisition committee approved the plan Monday. The full forest board will vote on the deals Jan. 12.
The proposed Lakewood addition is on the south side of Route 176, west of Fairfield Road. If the forest board approves the purchase, it will bring Lakewood - already the county's largest preserve - to 2,825 acres.
The land will cost $550,000.
District officials have been after the site for a long time, said board member Carol Calabresa, who leads the land preservation committee.
It'll actually be acquired in two phases. Most of the land will be turned over to the district right away. A small spot on the north side of the site will remain privately owned until a 50-year lease for a cellular communications tower there expires, said Matt Norton, the forest district's lawyer.
Forest board President Ann Maine was particularly excited about the purchase. Natural restoration efforts around the site have been extensive, she said.
"I ride that part of the Millennium Trail a lot ... and it looks fabulous," Maine said, referring to the hiking and biking trail that goes through the area.
The Ray Lake Forest Preserve is north of Lakewood. The proposed addition is on the east side of Gilmer Road, north of Route 176. It will bring that preserve to 610 acres.
The land will cost $442,500.
The Ray Lake expansion site is a vacant field.
The Lakewood site contains a house that will be evaluated for possible district use. If it can't be repurposed, it'll be razed, Kovach said.