Barrington-area Citizens for Conservation acquires more land

Citizens for Conservation, one of the oldest volunteer conservation groups in Illinois, has acquired two more parcels of open space totaling 36 acres, significant additions toward achieving its goal of linked ecosystems in the Barrington area, the organization announced.

The larger, 31-acre site sits northwest of the village of Barrington, across Hart Road from the group's Craftsbury Preserve. The Lake Barrington-based group plans to consolidate the property, acquired from Arthur Rice III and Lynn Rice, with Craftsbury, creating a single preserve divided by Hart Road.

Officials said the new preserve will be 53 acres, making it group's second-largest after Flint Creek Savanna.

The second parcel, measuring about 5 acres, sits on West Oak Knoll Road in Barrington Hills and was donated by the Joan Y. Mullins Trust. The land is near the group's Grigsby Prairie Preserve and adjacent to the Barrington Hills Country Club.

The group will be developing land management plans for the property in the future, officials said on the organization's website.

Restoration Manager Kevin Scheiwiller said in a statement that the acquisitions are important for a number of reasons.

"The new Craftsbury tract of land offers rolling topography and wetland depressions left over as the last glaciers receded from this area," he said. "It also contains the remainder of the main wetland from the original Craftsbury (East) donation. Even though all you can currently see from Hart Road are buckthorn and cattails, there are still small pockets of remnant, conservative species hanging on at this site. The removal of buckthorn will allow residents of the Barrington area to enjoy the 53 acres of rolling grasslands while furthering the ecological health of this site."

He added that the Mullins donation is a vital parcel of open land within the Flint Creek watershed, helping to further a greenway.