Names proposed for forest holdings

Some Lake Forest Preserve District properties without names or those having a generic designation may not be that way for much longer.

Members of the forest district's education, cultural resources and public affairs committee gave a positive recommendation to the proposed names for the properties at a meeting Monday. The recommendation eventually will go the full forest district board for a formal, binding vote.

Forest District Executive Director Thomas Hahn said having names on all holdings would make it easier for visitors to find them. He also said clarifying site names and boundaries would allow staffers to update mapping and navigation services.

If formal approval is granted, at least “a couple thousand” acres in the Wadsworth area near Route 41 would receive the name Sedge Meadow Forest Preserve, Hahn said.

Generically named Site 27 in Lincolnshire would become the Duffy Stormwater Facility, while Site 15 would turn into Atkinson Stormwater Facility Site 15 near Green Oaks. Properties with a name ending in “stormwater facility” would help make it clear there is no public access to the site, Hahn said.

Plans call for clarifying the boundaries of the Half Day and Daniel Wright Woods forest preserves in the Vernon Hills-Lincolnshire area. It's proposed the Des Plaines River should be the official dividing line between Half Day on the west and Wright to the east.