Lake County forest names come natural

In keeping with Lake County Forest Preserve District tradition, three of the region's newest preserves are set to receive environment-themed names.

A 261-acre site near Antioch will be dubbed the Prairie Stream Forest Preserve, under a proposal commissioners reviewed Thursday. Additionally, a 119-acre site in Kildeer will be called the Egret Marsh Forest Preserve, and a 243-acre site near Volo will be known as Kettle Grove Forest Preserve.

Nearly all of the county's 56 forest preserves honor ecological features. Only a few --Ethel's Woods near Antioch and Wright Woods near Lincolnshire among them -- pay tribute to people.

Forest district committees approved the proposed names during separate meetings Thursday. The full board could make the recommendations official Tuesday during its regularly scheduled meeting in Waukegan.

Purchase deals for all three sites were struck in January as part of the largest single-day land buy in forest district history.

The site to be called the Prairie Stream preserve is west of Route 45 and north of Route 173. It connects to the state-protected Redwing Slough Natural area.

Officials considered using Redwing in the name of the new preserve but opted against it to prevent confusion.

The proposed Egret Marsh preserve is at Route 22 and Kruger Road, just west of Heron Creek Forest Preserve. The planned name recognizes a large marsh on the property, as well as its vicinity to the Heron Creek preserve, officials said.

"It keeps the egrets and the herons together," Andy Kimmel, the district's deputy executive director, told the planning and restoration committee Thursday.

The proposed Kettle Grove preserve is between routes 120 and 60 and west of Wilson Road. The district purchased two parcels to create it.

The proposed name recognizes several kettle marshes on the site that were created by glaciers, Kimmel said.