Back to the beginning: Project aims to return Libertyville-area site to its natural state
Given the amount of equipment and activity in the highly visible area north and east of Route 45 and Casey Road in Libertyville Township, it may appear the site is being readied for new homes or a big box store.
Quite the opposite is taking place. Instead, the work is part of a $2.17 million project to restore nearly 178 acres to its natural state.
Non-native trees have been removed and earthmovers are shaping the land to slow the flow of water, all in preparation for native prairie and wetland seed to be sown this winter.
The Donnelley Prairies and Oaks wetland mitigation bank is the final piece of a land-use plan for the Casey Road corridor approved by Libertyville Township nine years ago.
“There’s a lot of heavy equipment doing a a lot of work,” said Sarah Surroz, director of Lake County programs for Openlands, a regional conservation organization that holds a conservation easement on the property.
“They are preparing a series of low ridges so when they break the drain tiles, the ridges are holding the water in place,” she added.
Flooding and erosion will be reduced, water quality will improve and some imperiled grassland bird species will return. Relocating a flood-prone section of Casey Trail also is part of the project.
“The benefits for the community are strong and the trail will take people right through it,” Surroz said.
Township Supervisor Kathleen O’Connor said the large-scale restoration will provide environmental benefits by creating and restoring wetlands, prairie and savanna, helping manage stormwater and improving wildlife habitat.
Land in mitigation banks, regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is available as credits to entities to offset the wetland impacts caused by development projects elsewhere. Just over 40 credits at $130,000 each will be available as a result of this project. Proceeds will be directed to the township’s open space district – created in 1985 as the first township land protection program in Illinois.
The current work is part of the Casey Road land-use plan that guides the use of 303 acres of farmland owned and managed by Libertyville Township. Donnelley Prairies and Oaks Preserve is named for the prominent family that has donated property and provided other support.
“Since the township adopted that plan, we’ve done pretty much nonstop work in taking it (farm land) out of production,” and restoring it, O’Connor said.
An ad hoc committee including representatives of Conserve Lake County/Openlands, Illinois Nature Preserve Commission, Lake County Forest Preserve District, Lake County Stormwater Management commission and the township assessed the land, explored issues and opportunities, and gathered public opinion.
After the plan was adopted, the township used a combination of farming and environmentally sensitive practices to allow it to access grants and other cost-saving measures across the 303 acres, O’Connor said.
“This is the last portion of those acres to be returned from farming and restored to natural communities,” said Surroz, who has been involved with the Casey Road Land Use Plan since its inception.