Addition to Fourth Lake Forest Preserve costs only $1

An already sizable forest preserve near Lake Villa is growing by a bit, thanks to a newly approved addition that came at a sweetheart of a price.

The Lake County Forest Preserve District board on Tuesday agreed to buy a small parcel near the west side of the Fourth Lake Forest Preserve. It's costing the district only $1.

The land was so inexpensive because it had been owned by the county. The county acquired the site after its previous owner fell behind on property taxes, forest district Planning and Land Preservation Director Randall Seebach wrote in a memo.

The land's proximity to the Fourth Lake preserve, as well as the lack of structures on the property, made it a good fit for the forest district, said board President Ann Maine, a Lincolnshire Republican.

Moments before Tuesday's vote, Maine joked that the commissioner who supported the motion to purchase the land - Lake Villa Republican Tom Weber - "would provide the dollar" for the deal, eliciting laughter from the rest of the board.

The property on the east side of Granada Boulevard and north of Garcia Drive is less than a quarter-acre.

Although small, it is ecologically important, officials said. It's located near a rare native plant community called a calcareous floating mat. Other rare or threatened plant species can be found nearby.

The property will be "a visual, topographic and ecological extension" of the Fourth Lake preserve, Seebach wrote in his memo.

Named for a lake it borders, the Fourth Lake preserve contains 622 acres of trees, ponds and wetlands.

A short grass trail and a section of the Millennium Trail run through the preserve.

Its main entrance and parking are at 19808 W. Grand Ave. The district's operations and public safety facility is there, too.