Go With The Flow: The evolution of Ethel's Woods Forest Preserve in Antioch
This column, by Public Affairs Manager Sue Hawkins, is reprinted from “Horizons,” the quarterly publication of the Lake County Forest Preserves. You can subscribe to receive the free magazine, at lcfpd.wufoo.com/forms/horizons-quarterly.
Transforming an impaired lake into a healthy, meandering stream that naturally goes with the flow took years of watershed planning — and patience. The results are quite impressive and will be ready for the public to see this summer.
More than a decade ago, the Lake County Forest Preserves began a major ecological restoration effort to improve water quality and reestablish the native landscapes of 501-acre Ethel's Woods Forest Preserve in Antioch. Many discussions by Forest Preserve ecologists and land planners at the start of the project focused on the preserve's serpentine-shaped lake.
At first glance, Rasmussen Lake seemed possible for recreation use, but beneath the surface were real problems. The shallow 58-acre man-made lake, fed by North Mill Creek, was in bad shape. The shoreline was eroded with steep drop-offs. The basin was a mucky mess, packed with several feet of thick, puddinglike sediment built up behind a 600-foot-long earthen dam.
Dams are barriers to nature's cleansing process. They hold and store pollutants instead of cleaning them. In terms of water quality, Rasmussen Lake was among the county's worst, ranking second to last.
Faced with options on how best to proceed — do nothing, dredge the lake, restore the stream — the Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners chose nature's way. In 2007, they made the decision to restore the original flow of North Mill Creek through Ethel's Woods. And, they approved measures to remove the dam and slowly drain the lake to allow a new stream channel and floodplain to be constructed, ultimately returning the landscape to a more natural state.
About 18 years ago when the property was purchased, the board decided to name the forest preserve in tribute to Ethel Untermyer, who directed a successful referendum campaign in 1958 that formed the Lake County Forest Preserves. She took action to fulfill the request of her 3-year-old son, Frank, who wanted a place to play in the woods.
It's taken many hands over the years to move this ambitious restoration project forward. When Manager of Landscape Ecology Leslie Berns took over the project in 2012, she shifted her energy and expertise into completing what has become the single largest, most complex land and water management project the Lake County Forest Preserves ever tackled. Her work on the project is nearly done, with final native plantings and floodplain work to be completed this year.
In March 2018, Project Manager Greg Walenter started implementing public access improvements for Ethel's Woods. Planned amenities include an entrance, parking lot, toilet and multiuse trails. Walenter's mandate, and that of his fellow planners, was to design a trail system that showcased the North Mill Creek restoration project and avoided fragmenting the pristine oak-hickory woodlands east of the creek.
The 1.5-mile gravel trail and four scenic overlooks being constructed take full advantage of gently rolling hills and unobstructed views in the preserve. A short section of the Millennium Trail will run along the preserve's western edge. Future plans include a pedestrian tunnel under Route 45 to safely connect Ethel's Woods to nearby Raven Glen Forest Preserve via the Millennium Trail.
• Kim Mikus, a communications specialist for the Lake County Forest Preserves, supplies a bimonthly column. Contact Kim Mikus with ideas or questions at kmikuscroke@LCFPD.org. Connect with the Lake County Forest Preserves on social media @LCFPD.
Stream of Facts about Ethel's Woods
Opening Date: Summer 2019
Total Acres: 501
Acres of high-quality oak-hickory woodlands: 170
Grants Received: $1.8 million for restoration, $2.9 million for land acquisition and improvement