Lake County forest district $2.2M land purchase would add 89 acres to Pine Dunes

One of Lake County's largest forest preserves could grow with the proposed addition of nearly 89 acres.

Officials are considering buying what is known as the Dorsey property in Newport Township for $2.2 million - $25,000 per acre - as an addition to the Pine Dunes Forest Preserve.

The property is east of Hunt Club Road and borders Edwards Road on the south, with a portion abutting Interstate 94. It is adjacent to the village of Old Mill Creek and contiguous to the 867-acre Pine Dunes north of Edwards Road.

Forest district staff says the acquisition would expand opportunities in an ecologically important portion of Lake County, and is a "visual, topographic and ecologic" extension of district property.

"It's a great opportunity for ecological restoration and grassland birds," Executive Director Ty Kovach said. The property was on the market with a willing seller, he added.

Pine Dunes is one of five preserves and a state natural area that comprise a 5,300-acre regional trail and greenway in northern Lake County near the Wisconsin border, according to the district.

Jim Anderson, the district's director of natural resources, said the addition will add to the "mosaic" of habitat there and meets goals of the agency's green infrastructure plan by providing stormwater storage and protecting wetlands.

Pine Dunes' rolling diverse topography features a mix of prairie, savanna and woodlands. Streams, marshes, meadows and wetlands account for about a third of the site, which is considered a critical nesting and foraging area for a variety of birds and wildlife.

"The main thing we were looking at there was to enhance wetland bird habitat," Anderson said. "They're globally threatened."

The preserve has grown since it was acquired in 2010 from the McClure family, including 75 acres in two acquisitions in 2015.

In 2013, the district worked with the Illinois Toll Highway Authority to create 80 acres of wetland as mitigation for the Elgin-O'Hare western access project. That partnership included a $9.3 million project to create nearly three miles of trails, four boardwalks, three scenic overlooks and additional land restoration.

The proposed Pine Dunes purchase was one of three pending acquisitions discussed and recommended for approval Monday by the forest district board's planning committee. The others were a 0.67-acre addition to Fourth Lake Forest Preserve in Lake Villa Township for $3,685; and, a 13.4-acre addition to the Sequoit Creek Forest Preserve in Antioch for $73,700.

Funding will come from $185 million approved by voters in 2008 to acquire and develop properties. If the purchases are approved, there will be less than $2 million available for land acquisition and about $12 million in development funds.

"It's sort of a juggling act now," Kovach said. "The property size has to match up with the dollars we have left."