Kane County forest panel has plans for its land

Nearly $14.4 million in development projects are planned at 37 Kane County forest preserves over the next five years.

To be funded by a mix of forest preserve funds, state grants and cooperative agreements with other agencies, the projects were outlined in the forest preserve's first master plan.

Members of the forest preserve commission met Friday to review the 300-page document, which Forest Preserve Executive Director Monica Meyers called a "roadmap for the next five years and, really, beyond.

"This will enable us to see a much larger picture," Meyers said.

The plan will serve as a planning tool for determining improvements and outlining land acquisition opportunities.

Land acquisition has been a major focus of the forest preserve district, which has grown from 6,911 acres in 1999 to 17,135 acres today largely due to taxpayer-supported referendums in 1999, 2005 and 2007.

But even as forest preserve officials have been quick to purchase land in the face of rising real estate prices, they've been slow to develop those properties into campgrounds, picnic areas, nature centers, walking trails and other usable spaces.

Of all the new sites the district has purchased over the past nine years, only half are open to the public as forest preserves.

The master plan will aid development by outlining priorities, forest preserve commissioner Jan Carlson said.

"This puts a very necessary discipline in the process," said Carlson, an Elburn Republican.

Still, he added, the plan can be tweaked to include new projects as additional land is acquired.

"It's a plan. It's not cast in concrete," he said.

The $14.4 million list doesn't include the forest preserve district's plans to renovate Elfstrom Stadium, home of the Kane County Cougars. That $10.5 million cost is being split by the forest preserve and the Cougars ballclub.

Community input for the master plan included a phone survey, mail survey and eight public meetings in 2006.

Thirty percent of survey participants said they visit forest preserves 10 or more times a year; the most popular activities are biking, walking/hiking, jogging, picnicking and fishing. Ninety-eight percent of survey respondents expressed satisfaction with the appearance and maintenance of the preserves.

The forest preserve commission is expected to approve the master plan next month. It will then be posted on the forest preserve district's Web site for public review.

Forest preserve improvements

Nearly $14.4 million in development projects are planned at 37 Kane County forest preserves over the next five years. The most expensive projects:

• $1.6 million to close a gap in the Fox River Trail in Aurora

• $1 million to build a campground in the southern part of Kane County

• $900,000 for improvements to Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve in Plato Township

• $801,200 for improvements to Fitchie Creek Forest Preserve in Plato Township

Source: Kane County Forest Preserve 2008-2012 Master Plan