Nature: A smart investment

The world is awash in good news.

No, really.

There have been enormous strides in renewable energy use around the world, from Pakistan to Ghana, California to Texas, made possible by everyday people who recognize that using the ball of fire in the sky to power the grid is much more affordable and efficient than fossil fuels and also happens to require no burning, or wars, as environmentalist Bill McKibben has pointed out.

In Illinois, recent legislation will phase out the use of harmful “forever chemicals” in manufacturing, and the number of native gardens surges as more homeowners join the effort to support birds, insects and healthy soil.

Here in Lake County, voters overwhelmingly approved last fall a $155 million bond referendum for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The district recently issued the first $25 million; the funds will allow us to acquire and restore more land, as well as fund capital projects to increase accessibility for residents throughout the county.

It might seem obvious why we would want to acquire additional open space — more trails to walk, rivers to kayak, beautiful vistas to enjoy. And all of that is true. But healthy open space is also valuable. Some examples:

• Flood control: During the record 2017 floods, LCFPD wetlands held millions of gallons of rainwater. Had those wetlands been paved over, surrounding homes and businesses would have been damaged or destroyed. As more wetlands lose federal protection, it’s imperative for local entities to step up.

• Food production: Pollinators rely on quality habitat and farmers rely on pollinators — honeybee-pollinated commodities alone account for $15 billion in annual U.S. agricultural production, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau.

• Workforce attraction: Homebuyers consistently cite open space as a priority. It’s no wonder that Lake County, with its strong tradition of valuing nature, was recently named one of the top 10 counties in the United States for economic development.

• Health care savings: Studies show the closer one lives to green space, the less they spend on health care — by the hundreds of dollars per year — even taking into account variables like age and income.

Depending on who and what is impacted, the value of a restored acre — meaning, land returned to its natural state — is estimated in the thousands to the tens of thousands of dollars per acre, per year.

Every year.

Today, LCFPD manages about 11,000 acres of restored land. That is a value in the tens of millions of dollars in the form of clean air, water, and soil, flood reduction, pollinator support, carbon storage and more. If LCFPD had the operational funds to restore all 31,500 of its acres ...? Well, you do the math.

One thing is clear: nature is a sound investment.

One of our goals with the referendum dollars is to acquire an additional 2,000 acres, a value potential in the millions of dollars every year, year after year — as long as we taxpayers continue to support the maintenance of restored acres. Because as every gardener knows, it takes constant upkeep.

Americans agree on so much. We value clean air in our lungs and clean water flowing through lakes and rivers. We value the shade of an oak and healthy local food powered by pollinators. We value, and depend on, the quality-of-life nature provides.

• Jessica Vealitzek is president of the Lake County Forest Preserves.