Kane County Forest Preserve District director retires: 'This is what I was meant to do'

Since Monica Meyers took the helm of the Kane County Forest Preserve District in 2004, the preserves have more than tripled in size, from roughly 7,000 acres to 23,000 and counting.

Now retiring after 18 years as executive director, Meyers is looking back on nearly two decades of growing the preserves through land acquisitions, restorations and trail expansions.

"As a kid, I grew up next to a state park and I was always outside. I went to college in the mountains, where I received my degree in parks and recreation management. My career started in active-recreation management, but I always wanted to be involved in conservation and outdoor recreation. I feel this is what I was meant to do," Meyers said following her last official commission meeting on Dec. 12. "I've been blessed to be a part of this great organization."

Having led the district during a time of unprecedented growth, Meyers "has been the heart and brains of the preserves," forest preserve commission President Christopher Kious said, adding that Meyers has been a keen negotiator and a strong business advocate for the district over the years.

"It wasn't just growth but a strategic acquisition of natural areas that were important to preserve our natural history in Kane County," Kious said in a statement. "Her contribution of time and talent leaves us in a very good position, as she moves on to the next phase of her life, and we move this organization into the future."

While Meyers plans to go on working with the preserves as a volunteer, her successor hopes to continue working with the commission to tackle environmental issues like climate change and declining biodiversity with local, nature-based solutions.

Executive Director Benjamin Haberthur, who describes himself as a conservationist at heart, joined the forest preserve district in 2011 as the district's restoration ecologist. In 2016, he started serving as the director of natural resource management, working closely with Meyers.

Haberthur said his previous position allowed him to observe how Meyers balanced the district's three core missions: conservation, education and recreation.

On the conservation end, Haberthur said connecting and restoring the district's 23,000 acres is a major priority. That's because creating unobstructed "green corridors" of habitat is one way to help plants and animals naturally migrate amid our changing climate.

"Climate change is so overarching. It's hard to find simple things that are going to address the problem, but some of them start with that master planning process and in our land acquisition strategy," he said.

Haberthur added he'd like to continue working with the district's farmers to move toward more environmentally friendly farming practices - roughly 26% of the forest preserves land is currently farmland.

Those acres are leased out to farmers on an annual basis until the land can be restored to a natural habitat, which takes time and funding. Prairie restoration, for example, costs about $2,000 per acre.

"We're pulling land out of agriculture and putting it into natural areas at the rate of about 115 to 200 acres per year. But we're at 40 to 60 years at that rate," he said. "We've got to find a way to run our farmlands as a proxy for nature."

With just about a month under his belt as executive director, Haberthur is still settling into the position. He said he plans to follow many things Meyers has done during this transition period.

"A lot of people live their lives wondering if they've made an impact. I think if you've got 15,000 acres protected in perpetuity under your belt, that's a great thing to be proud of," Haberthur said, reflecting on Meyers' legacy. "When somebody looks back on Kane County in 100 years, it will be because of people like Monica that these natural areas exist."

Among all her accomplishments, Meyers said she's most proud of the team she has helped build and has worked alongside for these past 18 years.

"One person can't take credit for all of this," she said. "You put a qualified team together to accomplish the goals set forth by the commission. Everyone working together is what makes that happen. I'll miss the people and the relationships that have been developed."