Kirk, Openlands Move to Protect Fort Sheridan Bluffs

For the past several months, U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk from Illinois and Openlands Project have been working to protect what Kirk describes as "the only untouched Lake Michigan bluffs for 60 miles in either direction." When Congress passed the defense authorization bill in October, it included Kirk's amendment to allow the U.S. Navy to transfer roughly 50 acres of natural shoreline at its Fort Sheridan site to the state or a nonprofit organization. "Kids," said Kirk, "should be able to see Lake Michigan bluffs the way Father Marquette saw when he paddled by."

A recent "reconnaissance survey" by Conservation Design Forum found the bluff ecosystem to be in surprisingly good condition. The site harbors several endangered plant species and is a prime stopover for migratory birds. Openlands envisions the public being able to hike the rich wooded bluff ecosystems furrowed by deep ravines.

"The cool air from the lake becomes captured within the ravines and creates a mini-climate that allows plants to thrive that wouldn't thrive in a prairie twenty miles west," says Blake Lynch, formerly of Openlands Project. "You can't find this anywhere else."

The Navy is considering privatizing its housing at Fort Sheridan, which would leave the bluffs vulnerable to development. Openlands Project has offered to hold the parcel and is actively raising funds to fully survey and restore it, even though the Navy has not yet committed to transferring the property. "We've got to step up to the plate now," says Openlands' Joyce O'Keefe. The success of the ecological restoration, she says, hinges on conservationists' ability to preserve a large margin of land on top of the bluff to prevent erosion and promote a natural water flow. "We can't do that if development occurs right up to edge."

— Don Parker