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PROPOSED MISCELLANEOUS ITEM OF BUSINESS
Department: Department of Resource Management
Summary: Pursuant to Section 9 of the Cook County Forest Preserve District Act (70 ILCS 810/9), the Forest Preserves of Cook County (the "Forest Preserves") requests to register an addition to Busse Forest Nature Preserve as provided in the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act, 525 ILCS 30/1 et seq., and requests authority to submit this additional property for dedication and registration with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission ("INPC").
This dedication would contribute to one of the key goals set forward in the Forest Preserves' Next Century Conservation Plan to dedicate and register 20,000 acres with the INPC. Dedication of a site as a nature preserve provides the highest level of protection for land in Illinois and is granted only to natural areas of important ecological or cultural significance.
The proposed addition would expand the boundaries of the existing 446-acre Busse Forest Nature Preserve by 508 acres, plus 263 acres of adjacent buffer. Busse Forest Nature Preserve, located in Elk Grove Village in northwest Cook County, was first dedicated in 1965 as Illinois' third nature preserve, and the landscape has been identified in the Natural and Cultural Resources Master Plan as the Forest Preserves' 4th highest priority for ecological restoration and management. The site consists of high-quality remnant mesic upland forest, dry-mesic woodland, northern flatwoods, and freshwater marsh. Subtle changes in topography foster an intermingling of these natural communities which support immense biological diversity, including over two hundred seventy-five (275) species of native plants.
The Forest Preserves currently has twenty-seven (27) dedicated Nature Preserves and six (6) Land and Water Reserves. The proposed expansion of Busse Forest Nature Preserve would bring the Forest Preserves' total INPC-protected lands to approximately 11,739 acres.
The...
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