Southwest Suburban Preserves Gain Extra Protection

More than 1,600 acres of land in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and roughly 400 acres of Will County Forest Preserve District holdings have gained extra legal protection from the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC) to ensure that they will remain natural areas.

The Orland and Bartel Grasslands, both near Tinley Park, and land adjacent to the Camp Sagawau Canyon Nature Preserve, near Lemont, comprise the Cook County parcels. Lake Renwick Preserve East Unit, near Plainfield, the Rock Run Preserve, in Joliet, and the Theodore Marsh Preserve, in Crest Hill, are the Will County sites.

The commission designated five of the sites as Land and Water Reserves, which means they may be used for wildlife viewing, nature photography, hiking, approved scientific research and other approved activities that do not have negative impacts on their natural features. The land near Camp Sagawau Canyon Nature Preserve has been designated a Nature Preserve Buffer, which will accommodate all but the "other approved activities."

The INPC's pursuit of these protections stemmed from agreements between the forest preserve districts and CorLands, a nonprofit conservation group that administers wetland acquisition and restoration grants in conjunction with the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.