DuPage preserve may become permanent home for dogs

Mallard Lake Forest Preserve's temporary dog park may become a permanent feature after a new road and other enhancements are completed at the Bloomingdale-area forest preserve this year.

Forest preserve officials said Wednesday the current unfenced 30-acre dog park will have to be closed for at least a year while construction crews build a new entrance road from Schick Road at the southern end of the forest preserve and make other cosmetic improvements.

However, forest preserve commissioners asked staff to come back with a plan to create a new fenced off-leash exercise area for dogs of comparable size at the preserve once construction is done.

Construction could begin as early as April and last throughout the year, forest preserve officials said.

The project will cost $3.2 million with the money coming from the landfill fund that was created when the area was used for garbage collection. About $372,000 already has been spent on engineering and permitting, officials said.

The dog park at Mallard Lake was slated to be permanently closed as a result of the new road after opening several years ago to accommodate dog owners displaced by dog park construction at Pratt's Wayne Woods and East Branch forest preserves. The new road cuts through about five acres of the current site.

A vocal group of dog park users convinced commissioners to find them a new home.

"They were willing to move, just as long as they had about the same amount of land," Commissioner Linda Painter said.

The park may wind up being somewhat smaller just because of geographical constraints and wetland issues at the 947-acre forest preserve. It's currently in the preserve's southeast corner.

If the dog park is shifted to the north, a small stream would dissect the park and a bridge of some sort would have to be built. There's also a hill to the north of the current dog park, officials said.

The forest preserve can't simply re-engineer the road plans, commissioners said.

"It took us three and a half years to get the permits we got and if we go through the wetlands, it will take three more and a bucket-load more money," Commissioner Roger Kotecki said.

When built, the Mallard Lake dog park will be the district's seventh permanent off-leash exercise area. The other dog parks range in size from 90 acres at the East Branch Forest Preserve near Glendale Heights to four acres at the Mayslake Forest Preserve near Oak Brook.

Recent construction of dog parks has cost the district about $400,000 each. Landfill funds could be used to build the permanent one at Mallard Lake, but that would take money away from other earmarked projects at the preserve, officials said.

Residents can buy an annual yearlong off-leash permit for $40 and use any of the district's dog parks. Last year, 10,131 permits were issued. Of those permits, 49 singled out Mallard Lake as the only dog park they use and 162 others listed it among the dog parks they use within the district.

Here's a look at the DuPage County Forest Preserve's off-leash dog exercise areas.

Mayslake

• Located near Oak Brook

• 4 acres

• Fenced

Green Valley

• Located in southeast Naperville

• 16 acres

• Fenced

East Branch

• Located near Glendale Heights

• 90 acres

• Unfenced, features swim pond

Blackwell

• Located near Warrenville

• 10 acres

• Fenced

Pratt's Wayne Woods

• Located near Bartlett

• 20 acres

• Partially fenced

Springbrook Prairie

• Located in southwest Naperville

• 37 acres

• Fenced

Mallard Lake

• Located near Bloomingdale

• About 30 acres

• Unfenced

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