Largest Cook County Restoration Underway at Spring Creek

At 3,900 acres, Spring Creek Valley Forest Preserve, located in the northwestern corner of Cook County near Barrington Hills, is now home to the largest habitat restoration in the county.

On October 9, volunteers gathered for a restoration kick-off sponsored by a number of local conservation organizations. The restoration plan for the vast site hopes to revive a mosaic of most major Chicago Wilderness ecosystems. The work since the kick-off has focused on the southern end of the preserve, an area nicknamed the Headwaters Prairie. Spring Creek flows from there into Flint Creek, then the Fox River, and eventually into the Mississippi.

Since the Forest Preserve District started buying the agricultural property about 50 years ago, most of the land has been unmanaged, and invasive plants have flourished. Still, there are patches of higher-quality woodlands, hill prairies, and a few wetlands and fens.

The restoration of a large preserve like Spring Creek Valley will be a boon to grassland birds, most of which need treeless areas as large as 100 acres for nesting. Grassland birds are among the area's fastest-declining species, mostly due to habitat loss. Volunteers collect seed, monitor, publish a newsletter, and participate at workdays. To volunteer, contact Rebecca Blazer at (847) 965-1150, ext.10, or rblazer@audubon.org.

— Ben LeFort