$2M overlook at Kane County forest preserve will provide views of restored ecosystem, returning birds

Sometimes, for that unforgettable wildlife sighting, you need a bird’s-eye view.

Thanks to a $600,000 grant, birders and nature lovers will be able to get a little closer to the action at Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve in Hampshire.

The grant is helping an estimated $2 million project by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County get off the ground. The work involves constructing an elevated wildlife observation overlook amid prairie and wetland habitat.

Designs for the project show the overlook connected to an ADA-accessible pathway, immersing visitors in the sights and sounds of the protected ecosystem.

The grant is part of the state’s 2026 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program.

In addition to the overlook, the grant will help fund a classroom for education, a trail and small shelter, and educational signage at the 757-acre Muirhead Springs.

From rare birds to rare experiences, the forest preserve district said the project will open a new chapter for the Muirhead Springs restoration project. Work on the conservation experiment began 25 years ago with the conversion of farmland back to its native habitat. Prairie and wetland restoration started three years ago.

“We’re in a race to restore as much land and save as many plant and animal species as possible before they go extinct,” Benjamin Haberthur, the district’s executive director, said in a release. “We’re not just playing a long game, but the forever game. Muirhead Springs is the biggest and best wetland the district has restored to date, and we want to get the public more easily into their public lands.”

The project is among six approved by voters during the 2024 Land Acquisition and Preserve Improvement referendum.

Haberthur said it’s been remarkable how fast wildlife has returned to the land once the community invested in its future.

“Almost as soon as we began holding water on the project, rare and varied shorebirds and other wildlife began visiting the site, most remarkable of which was the federally endangered Whooping Crane,” Haberthur said. “Only 700 ‘Whoopers’ exist in the world, only 500 of those are migratory, and three visited our wetland as soon as we started creating it. Wherever the rare birds appear, the birders follow.”

The district is partnering with Kane County Audubon to help fund and develop “bird-centric” art and signs adorning the new observation platform. The educational signs will tell the story of the cranes, black terns, phalaropes and other wild species in the park.

Haberthur said he’s excited to see what new animals are attracted to the special area as staffers continue to improve the ecosystem habitat.

Final engineering on the Muirhead Springs wildlife observation platform project is expected to begin later this year. Construction is projected to begin in early 2027.

To learn more about the project, visit kaneforest.com.