Grass issues keep section of DuPage forest preserve closed

Uncooperative spring weather patterns have left users of a DuPage County forest preserve with nothing to do but watch the grass grow.

Contractors are reseeding a 16-acre section of Mallard Lake Forest Preserve near Bloomingdale after the first attempt in April failed to take hold. Forest preserve officials said a warm, dry April followed by a cool, wet May thwarted efforts to grow grass in the recently renovated area.

The section on the southeast side of the preserve will remain closed until the seeds take hold and grass begins to grow. Forest preserve officials said at Tuesday's commission meeting that could take at least a month if the weather cooperates, or possibly until early September if the problem persists.

Commissioners had hoped to have the section of the preserve reopened this month after a yearlong closure to build a new entrance off Schick Road, an entrance road and parking lot. While the project was budgeted to cost $3.2 million, the final price tag likely will be closer to $2 million, forest preserve officials said.

Mallard Lake isn't the only forest preserve facing grass issues this year, said Andrea Hoyt, the district's director of planning. Areas around a renovated parking lot on the west side of Herrick Lake near Warrenville and a new parking lot at Timber Ridge near Winfield also are being reseeded, she said.

Residents who live near Mallard Lake complained Tuesday about the delay and asked that fencing be installed to cordon off the area so other parts of the preserve can be accessed from the new parking lot. However, Drew Bergenthal, the district's environmental compliance manager, said fencing would cost the district $50,000.

Others asked the district to simply post signs asking visitors to keep off areas where grass is trying to grow.

The current reseeding project isn't costing the district any extra money, Bergenthal said. But that could change if the area is opened with warning signs that aren't heeded. If the contractors see people using the area before the grass takes hold and the lack of grass persists, the district would have to pay for another reseeding since the problem could be blamed on people instead of weather.

Commissioners decided to err on the side of caution.

"You only need one or two people to be knuckleheads to cause considerable damage," Commissioner Carl Schultz said. "Besides, it's not like there's not some other place in the preserve for them to go."

In fact, most of the of 947-acre preserve is still open, officials said.

But neighbors of this particular area have been awaiting its return since the renovation work closed an unofficial dog park last year. Initially, the forest preserve wasn't going to replace the dog park, but public outcry made them reconsider. Residents have been working with forest preserve staff to determine where a new fenced dog park could be located at Mallard Lake.

Hoyt said wetland issues will play the largest part in determining the dog park's location.