Opinion

Forest district right on Belleau Woods

Posted April 08, 2012 1:00 am

The request by St. Francis High School to use portions of Belleau Woods for athletic fields and parking lots is totally inappropriate, and the response by DuPage Forest District President Pierotti was exactly correct (“School wants part of woods,” Daily Herald, Mar. 27).

Col. Robert McCormack’s Belleau Woods was a gift to the people of DuPage County, and that gift must be protected forever from encroachment. More than 40 years ago, a southward extension of County Farm Road was proposed, and marching protesters (including myself) were extremely pleased when the forest board opted for the integrity of Belleau Woods.

In more recent years, Home Depot, with encouragement from some members of the Wheaton City Council, sought to locate in the oak woods directly across Roosevelt Road from Belleau Woods, and the DuPage Forest Preserve Board prevented that ecological catastrophe by purchasing the land.

To members of the forest preserve board I say, “Keep up the good work.”

Donald G. Westlake

Wheaton

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