THE FOREST PRESERVES OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS

THE FOREST PRESERVES
OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS

2009 Edition

Values, Vision, and Mission

Our Mission

The Forest Preserve District is dedicated to protecting, conserving, enhancing,
and promoting Will County’s natural heritage for the educational, recreational,
and environmental benefit of present and future generations.

Our Values

Six distinctive values guide the District in fulfilling its mission.

Quality
We commit to excellence by providing quality products and services.

Employee Wellness
We respect, value, and mentor our employees.

Customer Service
We are responsive to the needs of a diverse community.

Cooperation
We work together to achieve the District’s mission.

Leadership
We lead in the community and the workplace by inspiration and example.

Environmental Awareness
We promote and practice environmental stewardship.

Our Vision

The people of Will County will view the Forest Preserve District
as vital to enriching their quality of life.

Our Motto

Bringing people and nature together.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

District One District Four District Seven
John Anderson, Monee Edward Kusta, Jr., Bolingbrook Jim Bilotta, Lockport
Katrina L. Deutsche, Monee Charles E. Maher, Naperville Kathleen Konicki, Homer Glen
Cory S. Singer, Frankfort Jacqueline Traynere, Bolingbrook Diane H. Seiler, Lockport
[President]
District Five District Eight
District Two Jim Blackburn, Joliet Frank D. Stewart, Joliet
Laurie Smith, New Lenox [Vice President] Herbert Brooks, Jr., Joliet
James G. Moustis, Frankfort John E. Gerl, Joliet Dave Evans, Joliet
Thomas Weigel, New Lenox Lee Ann Goodson, Plainfield
District Nine
District Three District Six Walter G. Adamic, Joliet
Joseph M. Babich, Joliet
Ann Dralle, Lemont Donald Gould, Shorewood Stephen M. Wilhelmi, Joliet
Susan C. Riley, Naperville Deborah A. Rozak, Wilmington
Michael F. Wisniewski, Naperville [Secretary]
[Treasurer] Sharon May, Channahon

Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................1
Black Walnut Creek Watershed..................................................................2
Black Walnut Creek Preserve
Clow Creek and Wolf Creek Watersheds............................................................3
Clow Creek: Vermont Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve
Wolf Creek Preserve
Deer Creek Watershed......................................................................................5
Deer Creek Preserve
Des Plaines River Watershed...........................................................................6
Des Plaines River Greenway: Keepataw Preserve, Veterans Woods, Romeoville Prairie
Nature Preserve, Isle a la Cache, Centennial Trail, Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail/Heritage Trail
Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve, Prairie Bluff, Lockport Prairie East Preserve, Teale Woods, and
Joliet Iron Works Historic Site
Des Plaines/DuPage Rivers Confluence Preserves: Briscoe Mounds, and McKinley Woods
DuPage River Watershed................................................................................14
DuPage River Greenway: Whalon Lake, DuPage River Confluence
Preserve, Riverview Farmstead, Caton Farm Preserve, Hammel Woods, and Lake Chaminwood
Other Holdings: Lake of the Woods, Hastert-Bechstein Preserve, and Bird’s Junction Marsh.
Fiddyment Creek Watershed..........................................................................20
Runyon Preserve
Fiddyment Creek Preserve
Forked Creek Watershed................................................................................21
Wayne Lehnert Preserve, Laughton Preserve, and Huyck’s Grove Preserve
Forked Creek Greenway: Forked Creek Preserve, John Wesley Preserve,
and Donohue Grove Preserve
Fraction Run Watershed.................................................................................26
Lambs Woods
Hickory Creek Watershed...............................................................................27
Sauk Trail Reservoir, Hunters Woods, Hickory Creek Preserve, and Potawatomi Woods
Jackson Creek Watershed..............................................................................31
Jackson Creek Preserve
Joliet Junction Trail.........................................................................................32
Kankakee River Watershed.............................................................................34
Evans-Judge Preserve

Kankakee Sands..............................................................................................34
Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, Sand Ridge Savanna Preserve, and
Kankakee Sands Preserve
Lily Cache Creek Watershed..........................................................................37
Lake Renwick Preserve, O’Hara Woods, and Lily Cache Wetlands
Old Plank Road Trail .......................................................................................41
Plum Creek Watershed...................................................................................43
Plum Creek Greenway: Plum Valley Ravines, Moeller Woods, Plum Valley Preserve,
Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve, and Vincennes Trail
Prairie Creek Watershed.................................................................................46
Prairie Creek Preserve
Rock Creek Watershed...................................................................................47
Monee Reservoir, and Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve
Rock Run Watershed......................................................................................49
Rock Run Greenway: Theodore Marsh, Rock Run Preserve, Colvin Grove, Lower Rock Run
Preserve - I&M Canal Access, and Rock Run Rookery
Other Holdings: Kraske Preserve, and Alessio Prairie
Spring Creek Watershed................................................................................52
Spring Creek Greenway: Messenger Marsh, Messenger Woods Nature
Preserve, Hadley Valley, and Walnut Hollow
Sugar Creek Watershed..................................................................................56
Sugar Creek Preserve, and Operations and Law Enforcement Facility
Thorn Creek Watershed..................................................................................58
Thorn Creek Greenway: Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve, and Thorn Grove Preserve
Thorn Creek Headwaters
Wauponsee Glacial Trail.................................................................................60
Other Preservation Projects...........................................................................62
DuPage River: Shady Nook Park - Naperville Park District, McDonald Farm - The Conservation
Foundation, and Hidden Lakes Park - Bolingbrook Park District
Jackson Creek: Round Barn Farm - Manhattan Park District
Mink Creek: Mistwood - Mistwood Golf Course
Appendices.......................................................................................................63
Preserve Map, Preserve Features and Amenities Chart, Preserve Access Locations,
Preserve and Preserve Map Index, and Visitor Facility Information



INTRODUCTION

Since its creation by the progressive and far-sighted citizens of Will County in 1928, the Forest Preserve

District of Will County (District) has grown to nearly 21,000 acres of land owned, leased, managed, or

otherwise protected. The District’s first acquisition was a portion of Messenger Woods in 1930; by 1973,

there had been 25 tracts of land acquired. The rate of preservation has dramatically increased since then:



1930s = 728 acres protected

1940s = 190 acres protected

1950s = 12 acres protected

1960s = 79 acres protected

1970s = 2,130 acres protected

1980s = 2,907 acres protected

1990s = 6,727 acres protected

2000s = approximately 8,000 acres are protected or are pending so far this decade

The state law that permits the creation of County Forest Preserve Districts (70 ILCS 805, Downstate
Forest Preserve District Act) describes the function of these Districts to: “acquire and hold lands
containing natural forests, land capable of being reforested or lands connecting such forest; for the
purpose of protecting and preserving the flora, fauna, and scenic beauties, and to restore, restock, protect,
and preserve the natural forests and said lands, together with their flora and fauna, as nearly as may be, in
their natural state and condition, for the purpose of the education, pleasure, and recreation of the public.”
Stemming from this, the District sees its mission as protecting, conserving, enhancing, and promoting
Will County’s natural heritage for the educational, recreational, and environmental benefit of present and
future generations (Ordinance No. 320). The District’s overarching vision is for the people of Will County
to view the District as vital to enriching their quality of life – a critical component of an essential green
infrastructure.

Will County’s historically rural character has been rapidly disappearing. Will County’s population in 1990
of 357,313 grew by more than 40% to the 2000 census population of 502,266, making it one of the fastest
growing counties in the nation. In 2007, the population estimate was 673,586. The Northeastern Illinois
Planning Commission (now known as the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning) forecasted the 2030
population to increase to 1.1 million. With demand for open space increasing in direct proportion to the
decreasing supply of land, the District has used a broad range of preservation strategies. Traditionally,
the preferred technique by landowners has been to sell property to the District in full fee simple (i.e.,
including all ownership rights). Other preservation methods that have been employed are: purchase of
land with the owners retaining certain temporary rights; land donations; wills; acquisition or donation of
certain ownership rights, such as the future ability to develop (a conservation easement); leases; licenses;
intergovernmental management agreements; rights of first refusal; etc. For more information on land
preservation strategies, contact the District’s Land Preservation Coordinator at 815.727.8700.

This book describes the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s system of preserves and greenways. More
information can be obtained from the District’s website, www.fpdwc.org; by calling 815.727.8700; or by
visiting one of the Forest Preserve District’s facilities.

1

BLACK WALNUT CREEK WATERSHED

Black Walnut Creek Preserve
The Forest Preserve District initiated preservation of the wetlands associated with the headwaters of
Walnut Creek in Monee and Crete Townships, in 2006. Preservation is on-going; 65 acres have been
protected to date, with another 40 acres pending.

Black Walnut Creek

2

CLOW CREEK AND WOLF CREEK WATERSHEDS

Clow Creek

Vermont Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve

Located in a portion of Wheatland Township

that was settled by people from Vermont, this

historic pioneer cemetery protected one of the

highest quality prairie remnants in the state from

plowing and topsoil loss. The one-acre cemetery

was donated to the District in 1998 by the Natural

Land Institute after being saved by the late

Dr. Robert Betz in the 1960s. Vermont Cemetery

Prairie Nature Preserve has since grown to over

25 acres in the City of Naperville.

The cemetery was dedicated as a State Nature Vermont Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve

Preserve in 1999 in recognition of its important

Grade A (the highest quality) dry-mesic prairie and rare species, including the federally threatened and

state endangered Mead’s milkweed. The fire-dependent prairie is being

maintained by prescribed burns and by controlling exotic, invasive plant

species which may crowd out the native vegetation. District Natural

Resource Managers began expanding the prairie into the area around the

cemetery in 2004, and ongoing agricultural activities are in the process of

being phased out. Tombstone conservation is also being investigated.

The District has partnered with a developer to protect additional lands
along Clow Creek (a tributary to the DuPage River), to construct public
access to Vermont Cemetery Prairie, to create and enhance wetlands, and
to build a trail upon the vacated Normantown Road south to the Wolf
Creek Greenway. The District is also working with local municipalities
and park districts to extend Normantown Road Trail north to the Virgil
Gilman and Grand Illinois Trails, east to the DuPage River Greenway
Trail, and south to the Village of Plainfield’s trail systems, a three-mile
connecting trail when done.

Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek Preserve

In 2004, a 16-acre parcel at the headwaters of Wolf Creek was donated to the District. In partnership
with a local developer, a portion of the parcel is being restored as wetland. The remainder of the parcel
donated by the Wiesbrook family will be used to provide public access (Wiesbrook Access) to the future
Normantown Road Trail along the vacated Normantown Road north to Vermont Cemetery Prairie
Nature Preserve and onward to the Virgil Gilman Trail. Wiesbrook Access is located on Christa Drive in
Naperville.

3

CLOW CREEK AND WOLF CREEK WATERSHEDS

4

DEER CREEK WATERSHED

Deer Creek Preserve
Within Deer Creek Preserve flows Deer Creek, a tributary of Thorn Creek. This heavily wooded preserve,
located on Thorn Creek Lane between Park Forest and University Park, is part of the greater historic grove
that also included what is now Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve. The preservation of the 35-acre Deer
Creek Preserve in 1994 was triggered by a 5-acre land donation from naturalists William and Mary Lou
Stanley.
The District initiated management activities in the upland and floodplain woodlands in 2000. Due to its
small size and limited accessibility, no recreation or education facilities or public access currently exist. The
District has explored the potential to connect Deer Creek Preserve to Thorn Grove Preserve to the north
and the greater Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve to the west, but it remains a small island within an
area of large residential lots for now.

DEER CREEK WATERSHED

5

DES PLAINES RIVER WATERSHED

The Des Plaines River is the primary waterway in Will County. It is a commercially navigable shipping route,
and lined by industry. Yet within the complex of industry and transportation lies a vast wealth of cultural
and natural features. The Des Plaines River Valley contains one of the highest densities of pristine Illinois
Natural Areas Inventory sites in the entire state. These prairies and woodlands represent a valuable asset to
the people of Will County and all of Illinois, the dividends from this asset being not only in their scientific,
educational, and economic benefits, but also in the benefits derived from a sense of history and “roots.”
The river flows down from Wisconsin, and merges with the DuPage and Kankakee Rivers at the Will and
Grundy County line to create the Illinois River. This historic French colonial voyageur route was at one time
a broad and shallow wetland, but years of human manipulation by dredging, channeling, lock installation,
and construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Sanitary Ship Canal have created the river that
we know today.

Des Plaines River Greenway

This greenway of District holdings and leases extends 11 miles along either or both sides of the river south
from the Cook County line to the City of Joliet. In excess of 1,500 acres, it is comprised of 10 preserves.
Keepataw Preserve
Keepataw Preserve is located on Bluff Road between Woodridge and Lemont. The bulk of the 215-acre
Keepataw Preserve was acquired in 1978 to protect wooded uplands, steep bluffs, floodplain wetlands,
and cultural resources, and to buffer and expand the adjacent Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s
Black Partridge Woods and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s Wood Ridge and Waterfall
Glen Preserves. The preserve is linked to the District’s downstream Romeoville Prairie Nature Preserve by
leasehold property along the river. Keepataw protects several historic features related to its history as a
limestone quarry. The names Keepataw and Black Partridge honor historic Potawatomi leaders.
Active natural resource management by the District commenced in 1993. To date, the emphasis has been
on removing exotic plant species invading the wetlands and the bluff top, and enhancing and monitoring
habitat for the federally listed (Endangered Species Act) Hine’s emerald dragonfly and other rare species.
There is limited public access and a short nature trail atop the bluff providing a scenic vista of the Des
Plaines River Valley.
The District has partnered with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and local municipalities towards
the future construction of a bike trail bridge across the river to the Centennial Trail from Bluff Road.
Eventually, the vision is for trail connections to extend south along I-355 to link with the Spring Creek
Greenway Trail, and north to the DuPage County trail system.
Veterans Woods
Veterans Woods is an 80-acre preserve overlooking the river valley on Joliet Road in the Village of
Romeoville. It was acquired in 1966 and originally named Veterans Memorial Woods. It is characterized by
wooded uplands, a steep bluff, and limited floodplain wetlands.
Veterans Woods has two developed public access areas (Traders Corner and Roy F. Hassert Grove). Both
areas include picnic shelters that are very heavily used by the public. The picnic groves are scheduled for
relocation, replacement, and enhancement. There is currently no ongoing natural resource management.
The District has been exploring with adjacent owners a long-term goal of connecting Veterans Woods to the
rest of the greenway upon completion of mining operations in the area.

6

Romeoville Prairie Nature Preserve

Since 1982, the 330-acre Romeoville Prairie Nature Preserve has been protected by a combination of
District purchases, land donations, leases, and conservation easements within the eastern portion of the
Village of Romeoville north of 135th Street/Romeo Road. Romeoville Prairie lies adjacent to the District’s
Centennial Trail and Isle a la Cache as part of the protected greenway along the river.

Romeoville Prairie was dedicated as a State Nature Preserve in 1984 to acknowledge the significance of
its wet to mesic dolomite prairie, marsh, sedge meadow, springs, fens, and floodplain forest on shallow
soils over limestone bedrock. Prescribed management fires and brush cutting by Forest Preserve Resource
Managers started in 1985 to maintain and improve the health of these plant communities. There has
been an emphasis on hydrological control and the expansion, enhancement, and monitoring of habitat for
rare species such as the Lakeside
daisy and leafy prairie clover.
There is currently no public
access or recreational facilities
at Romeoville Prairie Nature
Preserve.

Isle a la Cache

This island (“isle” in French)

in the Des Plaines River in

Romeoville may have been used

by voyageurs in the 1700s to

cache their supplies and goods.

In the early 1900s, the island was

used for summer homes, private Isle a la Cache
recreation, and sportsmen’s

clubs. Between 1982 and

1997, the District secured 100

acres through purchases, land donations, and conservation easements, including the island and nearby

shorelines of the river.

Located on the island on the south side of 135th Street/Romeo Road is the Isle a la Cache Museum. The
museum and outdoor educational elements of the Isle interpret the late 18th century fur trade between
Native Americans and French voyageurs. The island has a canoe landing for river access and a connection
to the Centennial and Illinois and Michigan Canal Trails, which are located east of the Isle. Prairie and
wetland communities were re-created in 1993. The museum also underwent major renovations in 1993
and 2007. The District is working with the Village of Romeoville on a trail connection westward into the
community.

Centennial Trail

Centennial Trail extends six miles from Lockport to Cook County. The northern three-mile section runs
from the Schneider’s Passage access on 135th Street/Romeo Road in Romeoville to the Cook County line
in Lemont. This land is leased by the District from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater
Chicago since 1993 to celebrate its centennial. The southern three-mile section of the trail lies along
the Illinois and Michigan Canal on a leasehold from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and
connects to Lockport Township Park District’s Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail in Lockport.

7

NORTH DES PLAINES RIVER GREENWAY

8

Trail access is available at Schneider’s Passage,
Isle a la Cache, and Second Avenue in Lockport.
A historic swing bridge has been incorporated
into the trail north of 135th Street. The bridge
had formerly spanned the Des Plaines River on
135th Street/Romeo Road. The District worked
with the Village of Romeoville and the Illinois
Department of Transportation to relocate and
preserve the bridge.

The District worked with the Forest Preserve Historic swing bridge on Centennial Trail
Districts of Cook and DuPage Counties to extend
the trail into Lemont. The District is exploring
the possibility of preserving the remainder of
the land lying between the Des Plaines River
and the Sanitary Ship Canal north of 135th
Street/Romeo Road with the Water Reclamation
District.

Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail / Heritage Trail

Since 1994, the District has leased a three-mile section of the Illinois and Michigan Canal from the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources. The trail has been developed between the Des Plaines River in Joliet
and the Lockport Township Park District’s Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail in Lockport. This trail links
the District’s Joliet Iron Works Historic Site to the Lockport Township Park District’s Dellwood and
Dellwood West Parks. In conjunction with the District’s Centennial Trail and the Park District’s Trail, the
trail length is over 11 miles.

Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve

On the west side of the Des Plaines River, north and south of Division Street (between Lockport and Crest
Hill) lies the 270-acre Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve leased by the Forest Preserve District from the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago since 1983. It has been a dedicated State
Nature Preserve since 1983 due to its globally significant, high quality dolomite prairie, bluff, fens, seeps,
and federally endangered leafy prairie clover.

There is some limited public access to Lockport Prairie, including a half-mile trail and informational signs.
The District began managing the prairie in 1981 with prescribed burns, brush removal, and hydrological
work to maintain and enhance the leafy prairie clover population and Hine’s emerald dragonfly and other
endangered or threatened species breeding habitat. Restoration work will continue into the future.

Prairie Bluff Preserve

Prairie Bluff preserve was created in 2006 with the lease by the District of 730 acres from the IDNR and
the Illinois State Police. This land was previously part of the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Stateville
Prison. This new preserve has been protected to allow restoration and hydrological management activities
to promote groundwater recharge of the seeps which feed the wetland breeding habitat of the Federally-
endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly in the adjacent Lockport Prairie. The Lockport Township Park
District also leases a portion of the property. Prairie Bluff provides a uniquely large amount of space in an
urban setting; the two districts are working together to plan for public access. The Forest Preserve plans
restoration work for 2011 and preserve access in 2012.

9

Lockport Prairie East Preserve

This preserve, which is located across the Des Plaines River east of the District’s Lockport Prairie Nature
Preserve, is small (only 30 acres), but its significance is not diminished for that. It contains an Illinois
Natural Areas Inventory Site (a high level of state significance) harboring wet-mesic to mesic dolomite
prairie with exposed bedrock, leafy prairie clover, and sedge meadow, and lies adjacent to Lockport
Township Park District’s Dellwood Park and Dellwood West Park. The District received the bulk of the
site from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority in 2008 as mitigation for I-355 impacts to Keepataw
Preserve.

Teale Woods

Overlooking the Des Plaines River Valley on Theodore Street in Joliet
is the 15-acre Teale Woods. This preserve was purchased in 1994 and
honors naturalist Edwin Way Teale, who was born in Joliet and was the
champion of small “wild” areas in cities. There is currently no public
access to the woods, but the District will be building such in the future.
Teale Woods is the northern anchor of the City of Joliet’s Broadway
Street Greenway along the west bank of the river.

Joliet Iron Works Historic Site

Joliet Iron Works Historic Site is located on Columbia and Scott Streets

in downtown Joliet. This 50-acre preserve started in 1991 with the Edwin Way Teale
45-acre donation of a historic industrial archaeological site by USX Steel

through the Corporation for Open Lands. Situated at the confluence of

the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Des Plaines River, it currently is the southernmost portion of the

District’s Des Plaines River Greenway holdings. The site has been open since 1998.

Public access and an education trail were installed in the mid-1990s to interpret part of the ruins of a late-
1800s to early-1900s steel and iron manufacturing facility, including four blast furnace foundations and
associated structures. Adjacent and integral to the site is the Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail managed by
the Forest Preserve District and the Lockport Township Park District. Site management has concentrated
on stabilizing the structures by removing vegetation and roots that had grown over and weakened the
foundations, and improving safety and visibility by removing rubble. The site has been used to film
television and movie scenes because of its atmosphere and location. Picnic, water and restroom facilities
are planned at the access area.

The District is exploring planning partnerships to preserve the historic context of the site and heritage
of the area. Immediately to the north lies the facility’s coke ovens, which have been designated as a
County Historic Landmark but are otherwise unprotected. Across the railroad tracks to the east lies the
manufacturing and office portion of the plant, which are included on the National Register of Historic
Structures but are also otherwise unprotected. Also to the east lies the old Joliet Correctional Facility,
which has frequently appeared on television and in films. The Illinois and Michigan Canal joins the Des
Plaines River at this location, and there are several locks on the canal in the area. The District is also
seeking local partners for a future trail connection eastward to the Spring Creek Greenway Trail.

10

SOUTH DES PLAINES RIVER GREENWAY

11

Des Plaines/DuPage Rivers Confluence Preserves

Briscoe Mounds

Lying at the confluence of the DuPage and Des Plaines River on Front Street in Channahon are two Native
American prehistoric burial mounds and a village site owned by the Illinois State Museum Society. In 1989
the District received a donation of 30 acres of wooded floodplain associated with the site along both rivers.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources also owns portions of the Des Plaines River shoreline in this
area and at the nearby Illinois and Michigan Canal State Park on the DuPage River.

The preserve is predominately floodplain and is not suitable for public access or recreational development.
Natural resource management activities have not been initiated.

McKinley Woods

The core of McKinley Woods on McKinley Road in Channahon was acquired in the 1930s and was doubled
to 475 acres in the 1990s. In 2003 an additional 70 acres, known at the time as “Moose Island” (actually
a peninsula), was acquired and added to the preserve. The original portion of McKinley Woods is heavily
wooded (oak/hickory forest) with steep bluffs, ravines, and islands where the Grant Creek cut-off of the
Kankakee River joins the Des Plaines and DuPage Rivers to create the Illinois River. The area had been
used in the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. It is unusual in Will County for its redbuds, blue
ash, and chinquapin oaks.

Currently McKinley Woods has public access

and recreational facilities. In addition to two

picnic shelters and two and a half miles of hiking

trails, McKinley Road access area at Frederick’s

Grove has camping, access to the 60-mile Illinois

and Michigan Canal Trail, fishing, and a canoe

landing. Much of the infrastructure is scheduled

for replacement and enhancement. In 1995 work

was done to expand the yellow lady slipper orchid

population. Invasive and exotic plant species

control work, prescribed burns, and woodland

enhancement activities have also been initiated

in the late 1990s and early 2000s to defend

and maintain native plant communities. More

natural area restoration work will continue,

and the existing recreational facilities are to be

upgraded.

In 2005, Moose Island was incorporated into McKinley Woods

McKinley Woods. This area features woodlands

and very scenic river and back-bay frontage.

The northern portion of the island was named Kerry Sheridan Grove after the District’s long-serving

Board President, and the southern portion is designated as the Four Rivers Environmental Education

Center. Opened in 2007 with access from Blackberry Lane in Channahon, Kerry Sheridan Grove provides

public fishing, canoeing, picnicking, biking, and hiking. The Center opened in 2008. The District is

working with the Village of Channahon to protect additional portions of the wooded bluffs and ravines; to

improve a trail connection between the two access areas (which combined with the Illinois and Michigan

Canal Trail would create a large loop trail); and to improve trail connections into the community.

12

MCKINLEY WOODS AND BRISCOE MOUNDS PRESERVE

13

DUPAGE RIVER WATERSHED

The streams of northwestern Will County flow into the DuPage River in urban Naperville and Bolingbrook,
flow southward through a rapidly urbanizing stretch (Plainfield, Joliet, and Shorewood), and finally to the
Minooka and Channahon area at the confluence with the Des Plaines River. In a 1983 District report, the
river was described in this way: “A canoe trip down the DuPage River will take the canoeist past towns,
playgrounds, farms, railroads, and highways, but it will also allow the traveler to feel like a native American
or an early French fur trader or explorer as (s)he passes the dense forests of Glyman Woods, Hammel
Woods, Channahon State Park, and other areas. The abundance of wildlife adds to the ‘otherworldliness’
of the river trip. The water quality in the river has improved in recent years, and fishermen and fish are
both a common sight.”

Although the rural character and farmlands of large stretches on the river are quickly disappearing, the
efforts of the communities along the river have made it the premiere long distance canoe (water trail)
route in the County. The District has been an integral part of this effort.

DuPage River Greenway

The District and the local governments and not-for-profit organizations along the river have together
protected an almost continuous 12-mile greenway along the river from the Forest Preserve District of
DuPage County’s holdings on the county line south through Shorewood and Joliet. Trail linkages connect
the greenway to other local and regional trail networks such as Naperville’s River Walk, the Virgil-Gilman
Trail, and the Grand Illinois Trail. The river in this stretch has become a critical open space resource
(“green infrastructure”) for the communities that share it.

Whalon Lake

Along the east branch of the river lies the District’s 250-acre Whalon Lake, acquired between 1992 and
1994. Whalon Lake was named after an early
settler and owner of the parcel. The lake is
located on Royce Road in Bolingbrook and
Naperville, directly south of the Green Valley
Preserve in DuPage County. Across the river
to the south are various holdings of the
Village of Bolingbrook and the Bolingbrook
Park District; while immediately downstream
to the west are City of Naperville and
Naperville Park District lands.

In partnership with a previous owner, a

quarry in Whalon Lake was converted to an

80-acre public fishing lake that was opened

in 2008. A popular 8-acre dog park with an Whalon Lake’s wetlands

additional 2.5-acre dog area for dogs under

35 pounds, and a picnic shelter opened in 2005, and large wetland areas were restored or enhanced. A

canoe landing, trail connections and woodland and other restoration projects are planned for the future.

The District continues to provide planning and preservation assistance to local communities to remove
gaps and inholdings. We are also working in partnership with these agencies to complete a greenway trail
and to make additional neighborhood and regional trail connections.

14

DUPAGE RIVER GREENWAY

15

DuPage River Confluence Preserve

Between 1991 and 1993, the District preserved 260 acres in Bolingbrook at Boughton Road at the
confluence of the east and west branches of the DuPage River and Spring Brook. Also preserving lands
in this area are Naperville and Bolingbrook municipalities and park districts, and The Conservation
Foundation (a not-for-profit land preservation organization).

Although there are currently no public access or recreational facilities at this site, the District is working
with the other public landowners to construct and operate a multi-use greenway trail and access to the
DuPage River. District staff are also working with others on a trail connection to the Virgil-Gilman Trail
and hence to a regional, state, and national trail system. Natural resource restoration is also planned.

The District will continue to assist local governments in planning and preservation efforts to enhance or
expand the greenway. Of particular importance is closing the gap along the river between the Confluence
and the District’s downstream Riverview Farmstead.

Riverview Farmstead

One of the District’s most unique acquisitions started in 1994. The 15-acre purchase forms the core of
a preserve which protects a historic farmstead on 111th and Book Road overlooking the DuPage River
in Naperville. An additional 67 acres was acquired in 2006 and 2007 including the 10-acre Kropp-
Schulenberg Prairie. The
Naperville Park District
holds a strip along the
river itself.

The Farmstead was

settled and built by the

Clow family, and includes

a mid-1800s limestone

house, an early frame

residence that had been

converted to a barn, and

a large timber frame

barn. The site is being

programmed for the

interpretation of the Riverview Farmstead – limestone house,
historic transition from settlement house, and timber frame barn
horse to mechanical

powered agriculture.

To stabilize the timber

frame barn, a “barn raising” was held in 2001. Public access will be provided in 2009 and will include

the development of a canoe landing and bicycle trail along the river on properties owned by the Forest

Preserve District and the Naperville Park District.

As annexation proposals and development plans come in, the District will continue to work with local
municipalities and agencies to extend the greenway south from Riverview Farmstead. The District is also
planning with local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and developers to preserve some of the last
remaining farmlands in the area.

16

HAMMEL WOODS AND CATON FARM

17

Caton Farm Preserve

A 35-acre tract of three parcels on Caton Farm Road in Joliet known as the Munroe Access was acquired
in 2008 to remove a gap in the future DuPage River Greenway Trail. This new preserve lies just across the
river from the mouth of Lily Cache and Plainfield’s Van Horne Woods Park.

Hammel Woods

At the site of the historic Grinton Mill
in Shorewood lies the District’s 390-
acre Hammel Woods, named in honor
of those who fought in the World War
I battle in Hamel, France. The first 150
acres were the District’s second and
third purchases (1930), and acquisition
continues today.

Hammel Woods has three picnic shelters

(one of which was built in the 1930s

by the Civilian Conservation Corps),

two miles of trails, camping, fishing,

canoe landings, and a dog park. It is

the halfway point of the Will County Grinton Grove dam at Hammel Woods
segment of the DuPage River water trails,

and one of the most scenic portions. The

preserve can be accessed from U.S. Route 59 and Black Road (two entrances).

A 7-acre dog park, the first developed by the forest preserve, opened in the fall of 2002. Together with
Joliet and Plainfield and their park districts, the District is protecting lands along the river north of
Hammel Woods to consolidate the greenway between Shorewood and Plainfield, and for the development
of a trail along the river. We are also providing planning and preservation assistance to Shorewood to
extend the greenway and/or trail southward.

Lake Chaminwood

The 115-acre Lake Chaminwood (Channahon/Minooka/Shorewood) was purchased between 2000 and
2006. The goal is to provide public fishing access to an abandoned quarry, the DuPage River, and the
Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail.

Other Holdings

The remaining six miles to the river’s confluence with the Des Plaines River are characterized by individual
preserves which do not yet constitute a continuous greenway:
• 11 acres of floodplain within Lake of the Woods subdivision, south of Shorewood protected by donated
land and easements in 1998;
• 17-acre wooded floodplain portion of Camelot subdivision, north of Channahon known as Hastert-
Bechstein Preserve, with no road frontage or access, that was donated in 1992;
• 60 acres of wetland known as Bird’s Junction Marsh in Camelot subdivision purchased in 2001, currently
undergoing natural resource restoration/enhancement planning; and

The District is working with local municipalities to connect these holdings south to Briscoe Mounds and
McKinley Woods at the river’s confluence.

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DuPage River Preserves

19

FIDDYMENT CREEK WATERSHED

Runyon Preserve

Fiddyment Creek flows westward from Homer Township

into Lockport where it flows into the Illinois and

Michigan Canal. The District’s first holding along the

creek is the wooded 20-acre Runyon Preserve located on

Hamilton Street in Lockport. Named after local settler

and Illinois and Michigan Canal visionary and advocate

Armstead Runyon, it was formerly known as Legion

Park when it was acquired from the American Legion in Runyon Preserve

1934. This small, urban preserve has a picnic shelter but

no hiking trails. It is not currently under natural resource management.

Fiddyment Creek Preserve

The 274-acre Fiddyment Creek Preserve acquired in 2007 and 2008 lies between Homer Glen and Lockport
in Homer Township. The Preserve protects an aesthetic landscape with woodlands, prairies, a scenic
valley and the creek. The District is working with the Village of Homer Glen to preserve additional lands,
removing the gap in the preserve. The District has initiated cultural and biological resource inventories in
preparation for upcoming planning.

RUNYON AND FIDDYMENT CREEK PRESERVES

20

FORKED CREEK WATERSHED

Forked Creek is the largest watershed in Will County, and drains portions of Monee, Green Garden,
Wilton and Manhattan Townships, Wesley and Florence Townships and Kankakee County. It joins the
Kankakee River in Wilmington. This historically agricultural and scenic waterway is attracting residential
development.
Wayne Lehnert Preserve
This 80-acre parcel on Center Road in Peotone Township was acquired in 1971 and named after a District
Board member. A tree plantation and grassland were put in during the early 1970s as “wildlife” habitat.
There is no public access or facilities planned, and no ongoing resource restoration or management
activities.

WAYNE LEHNERT PRESERVE

21

Laughton Preserve
Gerdes Grove was acquired in 1931 from the Gerdes family. This eight-acre parcel was for many years the
full extent of the preserve. However, extensive acquisitions in the 1990s and in 2006 created the 495-
acre Laughton Preserve, of which Gerdes Grove is currently the sole access area. The preserve protects a
remnant of the historic Twelve Mile Grove (a prairie grove 12 miles along the road from Joliet to Danville),
portions of the 1832 Ce-Na-Ge-Wine and Joseph Laughton Reservations, and the historic Wallingford
Settlement in Wilton Center on Joliet Road. Laughton Preserve is predominantly floodplain forest known
for its bluebells, and is buffered by fallow agricultural fields and upland woods.
An old Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) shelter is currently maintained and used for picnicking
at Gerdes Grove, but the remainder of the preserve does not have public access. Woodland and other
restoration activities will be planned in the future in conjunction with improved public access to Laughton.
Future planning will also look at extending the preserve along the creek both upstream and downstream.
Huyck’s Grove Preserve
This 480-acre preserve on the south branch of the creek in Wilton Township was acquired in 2006 and
2007. It contains a prairie grove remnant along a scenic stretch of Forked Creek. An additional 22 acres is
pending.

LAUGHTON AND HUYCK’S GROVE PRESERVES

22

Forked Creek Greenway

The three-mile, 790-acre greenway starts at the Wauponsee Glacial Trail on Route 102 in Ritchie and
protects both sides of Forked Creek downstream into Wilmington at Forsythe Woods except a 1/2-mile
gap south of Ballou Road. The
Forsythe Woods access area on
Kahler Road at the northern end of
the greenway was acquired in 1974
and continuing land assemblage has
proceeded ever since.

Forked Creek Preserve

Forsythe Woods lies at the confluence Forked Creek
of Forked and Jordan Creeks and
includes parking, a picnic shelter,
and primitive trails. Prairie areas
have been enhanced by prescribed
burns since 1986, supplemented
with brush control starting in 1993.
The remainder of the greenway is in
interim row crop production.

The District will be developing a portion of the greenway at Ballou Road for a large access facility to the
Wauponsee Glacial Trail and a trail linkage from there to Forsythe Woods. Future planning will look at
extending the trail into Wilmington and to the Kankakee River and eastward toward the Kankakee County
line. The District will also be upgrading the existing public access facilities at Forsythe Woods.

23

FORKED CREEK GREENWAY

24

Donohue Grove Preserve
In 2008 the District acquired 133 acres of a woodland grove located along a scenic and winding stretch of
Forked Creek on Donohue Road in Wesley Township to create Donohue Grove Preserve. An additional 95
acres is pending.
John Wesley Preserve
In 2008, 274 acres was acquired in Wesley Township which was named John Wesley Preserve. Future
efforts will be to continue protecting this scenic valley, connecting the John Wesley and Donohue Grove
Preserves. The preserve contains a section of Forked Creek with extensive floodplain and hydric soils for
future restoration.

DONOHUE GROVE AND JOHN WESLEY PRESERVES

25

FRACTION RUN WATERSHED

Lambs Woods

Fraction Run is a small watershed in rapidly urbanizing Homer
and Lockport Townships which flows into the Illinois and
Michigan Canal in Lockport at the Lockport Township Park
District’s Dellwood Park. Near the creek on Bruce Road in
Lockport lies the District’s 75-acre Lambs Woods, acquired in
1971. Lambs Woods is a mature oak woodland with a picnic
shelter but no trails. The parking area and walkways are planned
for upgrading in the future.

Lambs Woods Picnic Shelter

Lambs Woods

26

HICKORY CREEK WATERSHED

Hickory Creek flows through a heavily wooded valley in Frankfort, Mokena, New Lenox, and Joliet.
Hickory Creek is an important educational resource for northeastern Illinois. Research on the creek began
in the 1800s, and use of the creek by local schools and universities as well as the Field Museum of Natural
History continues. Maintaining high water quality and a natural riparian environment are necessary for
the on-going protection of this resource. With 2,040 acres preserved by the District, it is now right behind
Plum Creek as the best-protected watershed in the County. The creek is still being studied by various
schools and organizations, building upon the earlier research.

Sauk Trail Reservoir

The 260-acre Sauk Trail Reservoir was acquired in the 1970s in conjunction with the State Division of
Waterways for the construction and operation of a local stormwater reservoir/management facility on
Sauk Trail Road, Laraway Road, and Harlem Avenue in Frankfort. To protect the dam and stormwater
storage capacity, prescribed burns and brush cutting are part of the annual management. There is
currently no public access, but parts of the site are used by an adjacent school as a nature education trail.
The District is working on a bike trail along the north portion of the preserve in conjunction with the
Village of Frankfort.

Hunters Woods

The 43-acre wood lot known as Hunters Woods was acquired between 1973 and 1975. It lies adjacent to
Old Plank Road Trail on 78th Avenue in what was then the eastern edge of the Village of Frankfort, but
it is now surrounded by subdivisions. The oak woodland and small marsh have limited access, wildlife
viewing and an unimproved trail.

Hickory Creek Preserve

The 1,600-acre preserve started with a 139-acre purchase in 1942. The bulk of Hickory Creek Preserve was
protected in the 1970s and ’80s for a regional stormwater reservoir, which was never constructed. It is
the District’s largest individual preserve, and is dominated by various woodland and aquatic habitats, and several
significant education and recreation areas.

In 1998, the District dedicated 575 acres of the western portion of the preserve as the Hickory Creek
Barrens Nature Preserve. From the dedication proposal’s introduction: “First and foremost is the presence
of a large mosaic complex of prairie-forest transition that includes prairie and savanna, and a silt-loam
barrens community, remnants of which were formerly not known to occur in northern Illinois. This
complex indicates unique ecological processes, affords an unprecedented management and restoration
opportunity to reconstruct a dynamic, large-scale prairie-forest continuum, and is proposed to serve as a
‘restoration model’ that exemplifies science-based, ecosystem management. The site provides habitat for
the largest Illinois population of the state-threatened savanna blazing star (Liatris scariosa nieuwlanndi)
and includes an experimental re-introduction of the federally-threatened Mead’s milkweed (Asceplias
meadii). The proposed nature preserve provides habitat for two state-listed bird species including the state
threatened veery (Catharus fuscesencs) and state threatened brown creeper (Certhia americana). There also
exists a larger, habitat-sensitive avifauna that includes numerous neotropical migrant, summer resident
and winter resident bird species. Finally, the preserve includes nearly 2.5 miles of a medium gradient
perennial creek associated with a large complex of upland and floodplain forest, with inclusions of unique
aquatic features such as relict meander or channel cut-off pool wetlands, or forested floodplain spring/fen
wetlands.”

27

HICKORY CREEK PRESERVE

28

Prescribed fire was first used as
an ecosystem management tool in
1985. In 1997, control of non-native
invasive species which could take
over natural plant communities, and
the seeding and planting of native
vegetation began. Invasive species
control, vegetation monitoring, and
restoration/enhancement efforts
are still ongoing. Restoration is also
planned for the location of the vacated
Van Horne Woods Access on Route 30,
just east of Wolf Road.

The following educational facilities are

found in Hickory Creek Preserve:

• The historic one-room Schmuhl

School Museum is owned and

operated by the New Lenox Historical Hickory Creek Preserve

Society. The school was relocated

to its current location from the

Southeast corner of Route 30 and

Schoolhouse Road on April 26, 2000.

• The District’s Environmental Learning Center provides training to teachers, environmental educators,

school and youth groups, and the public. This site was developed in 1992 to include outdoor camping and a

yurt.

There are also three large-scale access areas with shelters:
• The Hickory Creek Barrens and Schmuhl School access is on Schoolhouse Road in New Lenox, and
includes parking, restrooms, a picnic shelter, and access to the 2.7-mile west branch of the Hickory Creek
Bikeway.
• Hickory Creek Junction in Mokena provides access from Route 30 to the Hickory Creek Bikeway, Barrens
Nature Preserve, and the Old Plank Road Trail. It also includes a playground accessible to children with
varying abilities built in the summer of 2000 with the support of Trinity Services, the Will-Grundy Center
for Independent Living, and the Lincoln-Way Special Recreation Association; and a picnic shelter.
• LaPorte Road Access serves as the trailhead for the 1.8-mile east branch of the Hickory Creek Bikeway
and Mokena’s LaPorte Road bike trail, with a connection to Frankfort’s Route 30 bike trail. The access area
provides two picnic shelters, restrooms, and water.

Future planning efforts include working with Mokena to improve the trail connections between the
portions of the preserve east and west of Wolf Road, and working with Mokena Park District to provide a
connection with their adjacent Community and Yunker Farm Parks. The District will also be working with
New Lenox on its greenway efforts to the west. Frankfort’s efforts upstream to the east provide another
opportunity for a trail connection to Old Plank Road Trail. The District is also working with the Illinois
Department of Transportation and local units of government to develop a trail along Route 30.

29

Potawatomi Woods
The District acquired this 114-acre parcel in 2000 to expand and buffer the Joliet Park District’s Pilcher
Park and Higginbotham Woods between Joliet and New Lenox, and to protect the Hickory Creek Sedge
Meadow Illinois Natural Areas Inventory Site. Potawatomi Woods also includes wet, wet-mesic, and mesic
floodplain forest; mesic and wet-mesic upland forest; calcareous fen; forested seep; and a perennial stream
with deep pools and gravel/cobble bars. Preservation of the parcel protected interior woodland bird
habitat and cultural resources on adjacent parcels from indirect impacts. The preserve is named after the
most significant Native American group still in Will County at the time of Euro/American settlement.
The District is initiating resource management work and will be coordinating with the Joliet Park District
to provide public access to the landlocked parcel from Francis Road in New Lenox. Future planning will
look at possible trail linkages to Old Plank Road Trail and Spring Creek Greenway Trail.

Potawatomi Woods

30

JACKSON CREEK WATERSHED

Jackson Creek Preserve
A new preserve was created in Frankfort and Green Garden Township when the District acquired 240
acres in 2006 to protect a portion of the headwaters of the main branch of Jackson Creek. The District is
working with the Village of Frankfort to restore a channelized portion of the creek, to preserve additional
open space near the preserve, and to connect a Jackson Creek trail in the future to the Village’s trail
system. An additional 138 acres is pending.

Jackson CREEK PRESERVE

31

JOLIET JUNCTION TRAIL

Joliet Junction Trail

A 4.5-mile (60-acre) abandoned private railroad was acquired
and developed by the District as a paved bike trail in
partnership with the City of Joliet between 2000 and 2002. In
conjunction with the State’s Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail
and the District’s Rock Run Greenway Trail, it creates a 15-mile
loop trail through Joliet, Crest Hill and Rockdale. The District
provides access to the Joliet Junction Trail at Theodore marsh
on Gaylord in Crest Hill.

Joliet Junction Trail

32

JOLIET JUNCTION TRAIL

33

KANKAKEE RIVER WATERSHED

The Kankakee River drains the southern portion of the county, and was a major French voyageur route
from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, with a broad and scenic valley and excellent canoeing.
About 17 miles of the river flows across Will County, 3.5 miles of it through the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Kankakee River State Park, and six miles flows alongside IDNR’s Des Plaines
Conservation Area and the U.S. Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Evans-Judge Preserve

In 2002 and 2003, the District acquired this 180-acre preserve on Route 113 near Custer Park, which
includes floodplain terrace and wetland slough in an abandoned river channel, disturbed sand savanna,
and degraded upland forest. The preserve was named after earlier owners of the property. The District
will be restoring and enhancing its natural resources and providing public access in the future to the
Kankakee River for canoeing and fishing. Long-range planning will look at ways to provide habitat
and/or trail linkages upriver to the Kankakee River State Park and downstream to the District’s nearby
Wauponsee Glacial Trail.

KANKAKEE SANDS

The Kankakee Sands area lies between the Mazon and Kankakee Rivers. Its sandy soils and crescent-
shaped sand dunes are relics from when the area was the shoreline of glacial Lake Wauponsee. The
result was unusual sand savannas. Large-scale farm drainage ditches have severely impacted the natural
hydrology of the area, as has a history of coal mining in the region.

Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve

This 325-acre preserve on Route 113 in Braidwood was acquired

from 1980 to 1997. It was dedicated by the District as a State

Nature Preserve in 1981 (with additions in 1983 and 2001)

because of its remnant dry-mesic sand savanna, mesic and wet-

mesic sand prairie, sedge meadow, and marsh. From the 1995

Directory of Illinois Nature Preserves is this description: “The area is

one of the largest and most diverse examples of its type remaining

in Illinois. The savanna communities exist in a delicate balance

between forest and prairie with fire as the influencing factor.

By consuming accumulated litter and preventing succession by

trees and shrubs, fire allows the savanna to flourish. Understory

savanna species in need of filtered light include climbing vines

such as grape and woodbine. Other notable plants of the savanna

are clammy false foxglove and huckleberry. The well-drained dune

ridges and high blowouts contain western prairie species such

as prickly pear cactus. Eastern coastal plain species including

yellow-eyed grass, grass pink and tubercled orchid occur in the

low wet swales. Due to the wide diversity of habitats within the

preserve, the potential for numerous wildlife species is great.

Over 30 species of birds have been identified and several species Braidwood Dunes

of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates have been and Savanna Nature Preserve

observed. Tiger salamander, western chorus frog, six-lined

racerunner, western slender glass lizard, bullsnake and bluebirds are some of the more uncommon animals

known from this preserve.”

34

Management by prescribed fire and invasive species control started in 1982 to enhance the fire-dependent
savanna. Between restoration and enhancement projects and maintenance activities, almost the entire
preserve is being managed. Public access is limited to a nature trail. Future preservation planning will
look at a habitat linkage to the District’s nearby Sand Ridge Savanna Nature Preserve.

Sand Ridge Savanna Preserve

This 494-acre preserve on the south side of Route 113 between Braidwood and Wilmington is the result
of ongoing acquisition from 1990 to 2004. The central core of the site was dedicated as a state nature
preserve in 1993: “The Sand Ridge Savanna is
a diverse high quality sand prairie and sand
savanna ecosystem located in Will County.
This 227.342-acre tract features high quality
sand prairie with a large population of the
state threatened tubercled orchid, and high
quality shrub prairie (a rare coastal plant
community) with the state endangered shore
St. John’s wort and state threatened narrow-
leaved sundew. The site also contains a rich
fauna of 41 prairie and savanna butterfly
species, including two skippers (the black
dash and the two-spot) that are on the Illinois
watch list” (dedication proposal).

Management of the fire-dependent plant Sand Ridge Savanna Preserve
communities through prescribed burns
started in 1992. An additional 12-acre
prairie was created in 1993, 36.5 acres in
2000, seven acres in 2001, and 14.5 acres in
2003. Hydrology restoration and invasive
species control started in 1996, and habitat
enhancement started in 1996. Recent
additions to the south and west of the
dedicated nature preserve remain in interim
agricultural use pending preserve master
planning. There is currently no public access
to Sand Ridge, but it has been funded and
scheduled.

Preservation planning activities will continue to explore additional habitat connections west to the
District’s Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, north to the State’s Hitt’s Siding Nature
Preserve, and expansion southeast to include an additional sand savanna; a link to Horse Creek; and
connection to a future potential extension of Wauponsee Glacial Trail into Kankakee County.

Kankakee Sands Preserve
The 525-acre preserve on the north side of Route 113 was assembled between 1999 and 2008. The
northern portion of the preserve is known as Shenk Grove. The preserve connects Sand Ridge Savanna to
the State’s Wilmington Shrub Prairie Nature Preserve. Access, restoration and development planning is
scheduled in conjuction with Sand Ridge Savanna Preserve.
.

35

BRAIDWOOD DUNES, SAND RIDGE SAVANNA, AND KANKAKEE SANDS

36

LILY CACHE CREEK WATERSHED

Lily Cache Creek and Lily Cache Slough are in some locations (through historic human manipulation) free
flowing streams, but mostly they are slow flowing wetlands. Draining southwestward from Bolingbrook
and Romeoville to the DuPage River in Plainfield, the entire watershed is urban. Due to aesthetic,
recreation, and wetland benefits, all of the communities along the two branches have been working
individually and together to preserve greenways along the creek.

Lake Renwick Preserve

The 832-acre Lake Renwick Preserve is an abandoned quarry in Plainfield which was acquired by the
District beginning in 1989 to protect breeding and foraging habitat for five species of then endangered
or threatened birds. The preserve is comprised of: Lake Renwick Heron Rookery Nature Preserve (320 acres
dedicated in 1992); Copley Nature Park (two acres); and Turtle Lake (510 acres).

The Nature Preserve includes 200 acres of lake which contains numerous small islands used for nesting by
great blue herons, great egrets, black-crowned night herons, double-crested cormorants, and cattle egrets.
The rookery is unusual for its diversity. The 320-acre nature preserve is owned jointly by the District and

the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The site’s
interpretive center and viewing areas accessible from
Renwick Road are open but with restricted hours to the
public during the height of the breeding season, as is the
preserve’s three miles of trails. Interpretation at the site
utilizes the Will County Chapter of the Audubon Society
and other volunteers. Nesting trees were being lost to
soil erosion on the islands, so in 1992 and 2002 nesting
structures were built, in 1994 the protection of nesting
trees against beaver damage was initiated, and in 2003
land bridges providing access to the islands by predators
were removed.

Copley Nature Park was acquired in 1998 with the assistance of the Corporation for OpenLands, the Will
County Chapter of the Audubon Society, and a local Friends of the Rookery citizen’s organization. The site
includes access from Route 30, and a gazebo with mounted view scopes for bird viewing.

Turtle Lake on Lockport Street was first opened to the public in 2004 to provide fishing opportunities on
portions of the Lake Renwick complex in such a way as to ameliorate and minimize impacts to foraging
birds away from the nesting island lake. It also provides access to the three-mile bike trail.

Extensive wetland restoration has occurred in the eastern side of Lake Renwick. The District has been
working with adjacent quarry operators and developers to assure the continuance of water flow into the
Lake. Prescribed fires were initiated in 2005 to control exotic plant species and encourage natural plant
communities.

At the end of 2007, District volunteers and stewards, Don and Espie Nelson, donated three acres of land
and 34 acres of Conservation Easement known as the Nelson Prairie on the south side of Renwick Road on
Lily Cache.

Ongoing preservation planning seeks to expand and/or buffer the lake. Other planning activities include
exploring preservation options for private recreational quarry lakes to the north, and trail and greenway
connections to surrounding communities.

37

LAKE RENWICK PRESERVE

38

O’Hara Woods
The District purchased a 2.5-acre landlocked wooded parcel in 2005 to expand and buffer the Village of
Romeoville’s O’Hara Woods Nature Preserve on 135th Street on Lily Cache Slough. An additional 50 acres
has been acquired in 2008. Preservation planning is ongoing between the District, the Conservation
Foundation, and the Village of Romeoville to expand the nature preserve westward toward other village
holdings along the slough and downstream to Plainfield.

O’HARA WOODS

39

Lily Cache Wetlands
In 2005, the District agreed to accept three separate donations totaling 129 acres of mitigated wetlands
in Bolingbrook and Romeoville on the main branch of Lily Cache Creek. These wetlands were created,
restored, or enhanced as part of ongoing industrial development in the area. These wetlands are part
of Bolingbrook’s Lily Cache Greenway and Trail. Future planning will look at extending the greenway
downstream into Romeoville and Plainfield.

LILY CACHE WETLANDS

40

OLD PLANK ROAD TRAIL

After 20 years of effort by the District, numerous agencies and units of local and state governments in Will
and Cook Counties (working together as a group that later became the Old Plank Road Trail Management
Commission), and the Corporation for Open Lands (a not-for-profit land preservation organization),
the 21-mile abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor was acquired in 1992 and later developed
and operated as the multi-jurisdictional Old Plank Road Trail. Before the railroad was constructed in the
1850s, the corridor had originally been secured to build a wagon and horse road using wood planks, but
the road was never built. The portion owned or developed and managed by the District is approximately
11.5 miles long (now over 130
acres), with the remaining eight and
a half miles owned by other local
agencies. It was the District’s first
linear “rail-2-trail” project.

The District owns and/or manages
portions of the trail from
Washington Street in Joliet east
to 108th Avenue in Frankfort,
and another section from Pfeiffer
Road in Frankfort eastward to the
Cook County line. The Village of
Frankfort owns and manages the
portion of the trail between 108th
Avenue and Pfeiffer Road. Portions
of the trail in Cook County are
owned or managed by the Villages
of Matteson and Park Forest,
Rich Township, and the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources.
The trail currently ends at Western
Avenue in Park Forest.

Although the area has since

urbanized, prairie remnants along

the trail have been managed via

prescribed burns and brush control

since 1993. Prairie enhancement Old Plank Road Trail

and expansion efforts started in

1998. The District currently has a

public access facility serving the trail at Hickory Creek Junction in Mokena and parking at Park Road in

Joliet, but another facility is being built on Washington Street in the City of Joliet. Old Plank Road Trail is

part of the Grand Illinois Trail, which circumnavigates the northern quarter of the state, and the coast-to-

coast American Discovery Trail.

The District is working with Joliet to link the Old Plank Road Trail to the Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail
and the Wauponsee Glacial Trail along street routes. The District is also exploring with the City of Joliet a
linkage to the Forest Preserve’s Spring Creek Greenway Trail. The District will be working with numerous
municipalities, park districts, and townships that wish to connect their local trails to this regional, state,
and national trail.

41

OLD PLANK ROAD TRAIL

42

PLUM CREEK WATERSHED

Plum Creek flows northeast from Crete Township to Lake Michigan via the Calumet River. The area was at
one time a wetland area lying between glacial moraines, but early historic agricultural drainage work may
have breached a moraine. This rapid outflow of waters to the north lead to soil erosion, which created the
wooded ravines which now characterize the valley, and exposed peat deposits with Pleistocene mega-fauna
(mastodon, horse, great beaver, etc.) fossils. This watershed is of great significance not only for its natural
and scenic resources, but its geology, paleontology, and archaeology.

Plum Creek Greenway

The 7-mile-long Plum Creek Greenway has been the District’s largest preservation project with over 2,200
acres protected. These lands are divided into five preserves: Plum Valley Ravines, Moeller Woods, Plum
Valley Preserve, Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve, and the Vincennes Trail.

Plum Valley Ravines

This preserve started with land donations in 1977 and 1979, and has rapidly grown to 800 acres today.
Plum Valley Ravines extends the greenway to the Cook County line and is immediately adjacent to the
Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s Plum Creek Preserve.

Recreational facilities and public access are funded and being planned but do not currently exist. This
portion of the greenway contains the steepest ravines, buttonbush swamps, various woodlands, and past
and potential massasauga (a State-endangered snake species) habitat. A preservation goal is to join these
parcels to Moeller Woods to create one larger preserve. Natural resource management, enhancement,
restoration, and monitoring activities started in 2002.

Moeller Woods

Moeller Woods is a “surprise” preserve. The District had long sought to acquire this property, but had not
been successful. In 2003, the District learned that the late Adeline Moeller had left a right of first refusal
to purchase the parcel on Exchange Street in unincorporated Crete Township from the church to which
she had willed her larger estate. This 90-acre purchase in 2003 became the core of the 450-acre Moeller
Woods.

There are currently no recreational facilities or public access at the heavily wooded site. Resource
inventory studies are underway or planned to assist in future resource management. The District is
exploring the potential for a trail linkage southward to Plum Valley Preserve and a short greenway
connection north to Plum Valley Ravines.

Plum Valley Preserve

Preservation in this area lying between Burville Road, Stoney Island Avenue, and Route 394 in Crete
Township began in 1990, and already 450 acres have been acquired. Plum Valley Preserve is a portion of
the creek with a visible valley.

Tree planting, seeding, and invasive species control work started in 2001 to expand and enhance the
woodlands and to ameliorate some of the fragmentation impacts caused by the numerous gas pipelines
that bisect Plum Valley Preserve. As more acres are restored, the interim agricultural activities will be
phased out. There are currently no recreation facilities or public access, but a greenway trail and associated
amenities are being planned.

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Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve

The first parcel of this 890-acre preserve was secured in 1938, while the core of Goodenow Grove started
with the purchase of a Boy Scout camp in 1977. The preserve can be accessed from Dutton Road off of
Goodenow Road in Crete Township.

Goodenow Grove was dedicated as a State Nature Preserve in 1996 in recognition of its rich, diverse
mixture of natural communities, including dry-mesic and mesic upland forests; mesic and wet-mesic
floodplain forests; forested seeps; savanna;
dry-mesic and mesic prairies; wet-mesic
prairie/sedge meadow; marshes; and vernal
depressions. The preserve protects habitat
for several state-threatened or endangered
species, including the eastern massasauga
rattlesnake, the Kirtland’s watersnake,
the spotted coral root orchid, and the ear-
leafed foxglove, among others. Prescribed
burning, brush control, seeding, planting,
and monitoring were initiated in the 1990s to
maintain and enhance plant community and
wildlife habitat diversity and quality.

Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve’s

recreational amenities include Plum Creek

Nature Center, a large sledding hill, numerous

nature trails, two picnic shelters, camping Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve
areas, and a skating pond. It is the site

of many educational programs for school

children and families and is a recreation

“hot spot” in the winter. The nature center underwent a major redesign in the fall of 2002 including new

exhibits, native gardens, and boardwalks.

The District removed the greenway gap in Goodenow Grove, and is working on the gap in the greenway
between the Nature Preserve and Plum Valley Preserve immediately downstream. Preservation and
planning efforts now focus on the upstream headwaters area and residential and transportation
development impacts; expansion and buffer of wooded areas around the perimeter of Goodenow Grove
Nature Preserve; and the protection of snake habitat north of the preserve boundary. Upgrades and
expansion of existing facilities and infrastructure will continue.

Vincennes Trail

The 2005 Capital Improvement Program Acquisition Plan included a partnership with local governments
to preserve the abandoned Chicago Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in eastern Will County for
conversion to a multiuse trail. The Vincennes Trail is proposed to go from the Old Plank Road Trail to the
Momence Wetlands on the Kankakee River in Kankakee County for a potential future trail of 25 miles.
The first 0.5-mile segment just south of Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve has been donated to the District
by the Crete Rural Park District. Active planning efforts with local units of government are underway to
complete the first segment from Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve to the Village of Beecher.

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