New observation deck will open unseen vista at Spring Bluff Preserve
A tiered wildlife observation platform extending 15 feet above ground level will open to public view a long-held property near Lake Michigan.
The handicapped-accessible, galvanized steel structure will be installed at the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve east of Sheridan Road near Winthrop Harbor. It is a key connection in a chain of coastal wetlands designated as having international importance.
Spring Bluff, once subdivided for residential use, was acquired lot by lot by the Lake County Forest Preserve District beginning in 1963.
Visitors could walk into the 229-acre property on a crumbling asphalt emergency access road, but the marshy landscape doesn't lend itself to hiking and the area has remained a preserve mainly in name only.
The observation deck and planned conversion of the old road to a multiuse trail will provide access to a 360-degree view of a dramatic landscape that has been undergoing restoration to its native state for more than 10 years, as well as of Lake Michigan and adjoining areas.
"It's our first opportunity to really provide public access there and let people see from a higher view the restoration work," said Randy Seebach, the district's director of planning and land preservation.
"This gives us a chance to share the restoration success. We don't have that opportunity with a lot of locations," he added.
It also is a significant investment, although $263,700 - more than half the cost of the project - is being funded through a state grant.
The $264,032 observation structure consists of a rectangular lower platform accessed by a ramp and an upper circular platform connected by a circular stair. Integral Construction Inc., of Country Club Hills, was the lowest of six bidders - less than half the amount of the highest bid - to fabricate and install the platform.
Seebach said galvanized steel was selected for its long-term durability, minimal maintenance needs and fire resistance. A condition of the grant requires the structure to be complete by August but it may be ready sooner, Seebach said.
The trail project is $220,514 and includes a viewing scope and interpretive signs to explain what has been done at the site. Work is underway and expected to be finished in June.
"That will be quite a spectacular place to go, I think," Carol Calabresa, the forest board's plan commission chair, said during a recent committee meeting discussion.
The forest district since 2007 has been aggressively removing woody invasive brush to create more high-quality sedge meadows and grasses as well as savanna to increase nesting areas for the state-endangered Blanding's turtle, according to Debbie Maurer, manager of restoration ecology.
"Geographically, Spring Bluff is an important connection between Illinois Beach State Park and Chiwaukee Prairie, which is in Wisconsin," Maurer said.
Both are part of the Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain, which covers 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois.
The lake plain is owned by eight public entities and is a designated Wetland of International Importance.