Preserving Public Land
For fur traders, explorers, and Native Americans of the 17th and 18th centuries, Illinois waterways were as essential to successful trading, communication, and transportation as they are today for recreation, education, and flood control. One such northeastern waterway, the Des Plaines River, was and is no exception. The Des Plaines River was a tricky obstacle course that had to be mastered if traders expected to do business from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. With a nasty habit of overflowing its banks, traders forged ahead along this link in the Illinois- Chicago River route and eventually turned the river into a highway of commerce that boosted the commercial development of Chicago. Even though trade via the waterways was declining by the mid-1800s, the Des Plaines River was still frequently mentioned by travelers working their way to the West. In describing a trip from Chicago to Joliet, Harriet Martineau writes in Society in America (1837), "a little further on we came to the River Aux Plaines (Des Plaines)...there is only one small flat boat for the service of the concourse of people now pouring into the prairies. It was a pretty scene; the country wagons and teams in the wood by the side of the quiet clear river; and the oxen swimming over, yoked, with only their patient faces above the surface...As we proceeded, the scenery became more and more like what all travelers compare it to—a boundless English park. The grass was wilder, the occasional footpath not so trim, and the single trees less majestic; but no park ever displayed anything equal to the grouping of trees within the windings of the blue, brimming River Aux Plaines." It is this beauty along the river banks, recorded by Martineau and many others including the French priests and fur traders who frequented the portage, that the Lake County Forest Preserve District has been trying to preserve in the form of the Des Plaines River Greenway. The Des Plaines River Greenway stretches like a narrow, crooked finger from the Illinois-Wisconsin state line all the way to Cook County. With the river valley linking nearly 5,000 acres of lush open space, this greenway is the crown jewel of the Lake County Forest Preserve system. Travelers along the greenway are treated to diverse vistas of floodplain forests, northern flatwoods, oak savannas, sedge meadow communities, and mesic oak woodlands. Illinois Parks & Recreation * May/June 1996 * 37 Born out of the district's first land purchase in 1958, the greenway now protects a full 80 percent of the river's banks, 4,851 acres in all. "Literally hundreds of land transactions were involved, taking place over the course of more than three decades," Lake County Forest Preserve President, Jim LaBelle, explains. "The greenway is one of our best examples of the value of long-term planning. When the board of commissioners purchases a new forest preserve or creates a new trail system, we aren't thinking two years down the road, or even ten. We're thinking 25, 50 and—in many cases—more than 100 years into the future. This calls for vision as well as the prudence and patience needed to make these projects a reality." From north to south. Lake County residents can enjoy the nine sites that make up the greenway: Van Patten Woods, Wadsworth Prairie, the Wetlands Demonstration Project, Independence Grove (slated to open in 1997), Old School, MacArthur Woods, Wright Woods, Half Day, and Ryerson Woods. The Des Plaines River Trail (DPR Trail) will eventually
link all these preserves in the greenway. Currently, the trail connects
many of them through two different nine-mile sections
including a six-mile route that was completed in 1992 with the
help of a $200, 000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources Bicycle Path grant program. More than 18 miles
of additional trails are found within these preserves. Four additional
miles of the Des Plaines River Trail are now under construction
and should open in 1996.
Cook County Forest Preserve District plans to create a trail
that connects the DPR Trail to its own riverine system of forest
preserves. And, large-scale proposed plans call for the DPR Trail
to become part of the Tecumseh Trail, planned to stretch one
day from Canada to Florida.
"Greenways are important because they serve as the connection
of natural, recreational, historical, and cultural resources
in one ribbon of land," says Michael Fenelon, director of the
Lake County Forest Preserve Planning, Conservation and
Development Department.
The greenway offers a fun escape to nature for hundreds of
thousands of urban residents. Plenty of trails and four canoe
launches provide access to fishing, picnic spots and miles of
scenery. Opportunities at these forest preserves range from canoe
classes and nature hikes to picnic shelters and playgrounds.
Bike and canoe rentals round out recreational visits.
County residents benefit from the greenway even when they
aren't using it for recreation. Flood protection is a key benefit,
with lowlands poised to safely reduce damage from heavy rains
and snowmelt entering the Des Plaines River. The 1986 flood
of the river wreaked record-breaking destruction in Lake County.
As rain pounded the region for days, lives were lost, homes
destroyed and the county was declared a federal disaster area.
Though rainfall was worse than in Cook County, which also lies
along the river, the damage in Lake County was less severe,
partially due to the thousands of forest preserve acres that soaked
up and transported millions of cubic feet of water.
The greenway not only stores water, it cleanses it as well.
The Wetlands Demonstration Project near Wadsworth, designed
to enhance this benefit, has received national acclaim for its
success. Researchers at the project analyze how wetlands store
water and process nutrients, and study how wetlands react to
floodwaters. Cleaner air and, in some cases, higher property
values are two other greenway rewards worth noting.
Several pristine areas flourish along the DPR Greenway.
Four are of such high quality that they have been added to the
Illinois Dedicated Nature Preserves: Ryerson Woods, Lloyds
Woods, MacArthur Woods and Wadsworth Prairie. These represent
some of the best examples of woodland and prairie in the
entire state.
In other areas, stepped-up nature restoration efforts are
underway. Volunteers, students and teens in the Youth Conservation
Corps support forest preserve staff on projects that are
returning native species to these lands degraded by farming and
other developments.
Rated one of the most important greenways in the Chicago
area in the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenway Plan of
1992, this protected corridor of natural areas is home to many
endangered species including the yellow-headed blackbird,
pie-billed grebe, great egret, and American bittern.
Since these preserves lie along a continuous path, seeds,
pollen and animals are rarely hindered in their movement from
one preserve to the next. For such things as tiny frogs and delicate
wildflowers, which stay strong only through a genetic mix
with other groups of their kin, a greenway is a gift.
Amy Purcell is the marketing and special events coordinator
for the Lake County Forest Preserves.
Participants will also view the W.W. Grainger project, the
forest preserves' latest example of a successful public/private
partnership and national model of conservation development.
Networking opportunities abound at sites along the green-
way and at a variety of evening events underwritten by corporate
sponsors such as W.W. Grainger, Mesirow Financial, Inc.,
ComEd, Friends of
Ryerson Woods, and Direct Image Advertising.
The Special Park
Districts Forum takes
place Wednesday, June 5,
to Saturday, June 8, 1996.
For more information
about the Des Plaines
River Greenway or the
forum, call 847/367-
6640.
38 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * May/June 1996 |
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