Gravel pit plan for forest preserve raises some ire

Kane County Forest Preserve commissioners have an idea to pump up the recreational use of the Brunner Forest Preserve that some open space advocates believe is the pits.

The plan is just a concept right now, but it involves mining the gravel out of a portion of the 700-acre preserve in Dundee Township. The district would then sell the gravel for a potential multimillion-dollar profit and use the proceeds to fund forest preserve improvements. One such improvement would be filling the gravel pit with water to create a lake for fishing and boating activities.

In theory, that idea sounds good, but in practice, Dundee Township Supervisor Sue Harney said, there are many potential pitfalls.

"It worries me greatly because, at this point, as far as I know, there is not a plan to develop that site into a recreational forest preserve," Harney said. "They need to complete a plan, and that plan needs time for the public to look at it and comment on it."

Harney said no development of the site should occur without expert analysis of the potential environmental impact to the Fox River, which flows near the property and three major wells that supply Algonquin residents with water. Right now, the former farm land acts as a giant water filter that supplies those water sources, Harney said. Studies already indicate the river could lose up to 50 percent of its water by 2049 even without the development of the Brunner property. Beyond that, Harney said site is just a weird place for a lake.

"I find myself being skeptical about the whole idea because it seems odd to create a fishing lake when you're only several hundred feet from a river," Harney said. "I think what I'd ask for is that we all move very slow on this."

Forest Preserve District President John Hoscheit said there should be no rush to judge the idea because the plan is only a concept that hasn't even received a vote. Hoscheit promised a lengthy public debate about the plan if the idea even moves forward. That said, the gravel pit could both solve a problem and create add an amenity to the forest preserves the public has said it wants, Hoscheit said.

"We're at the end of investing our referendum dollars," Hoscheit said. "The challenge is what do we do with the properties and what other revenues do we have to improve the properties we have? The public has made it clear that it would be interested in fishing environments."

Hoscheit said the idea has precedent in both the McHenry County Conservation District and the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

"We wouldn't do anything if it were damaging to the environment," Hoscheit said. "We have no desire to go into the gravel business. That's not our mission. Our goal is to create fishing venues. If in the process of doing that we can create revenue that we can use to improve our preserves, I think the taxpayers would be interested in that."