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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHIEF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT DAVID H. KIRCHER
WHEREAS, in 1985, Mr. David H. (“Dave”) Kircher graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree and started work shortly after that as a Landscape Architect for the Forest Preserves of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, over the past two decades, Dave served as Chief Landscape Architect, succeeding Joseph Nevius, Richard Buck, Glen Weidermann and John Morrill in this prestigious Forest Preserve position; and
WHEREAS, during his 37 years of service, Dave managed many important plans and projects relating to land acquisition, landscape restoration, planning and design of trails and other recreation facilities, design and production of trail maps, and the development of land use policy to protect District lands; and
WHEREAS, Dave was the project lead for the development of Districtwide land acquisition plans in 1994 and 2012 and oversaw the acquisition of thousands of acres of Forest Preserve land since 1994 with very limited resources, including some of the most significant natural resource sites in Cook County such as Burnham Prairie and other Calumet area preserves; and
WHEREAS, prior to the creation of the Department of Resource Management in April 2003, Dave was the lead on larger-scale land restoration projects, including restoration of Dan McMahon Woods near Willow Springs and Bergman Slough near Palos Park, and was heavily involved in major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ restoration and mitigation projects at Orland Grassland and Orland Grassland South; and
WHEREAS, during Dave’s tenure as Chief Landscape Architect, he was responsible for managing the Landscape Architecture section of the Department of Planning & Development, but also managed the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) section and land surveyor and licensing staff at various times; and
WHEREAS, Dave was the program manager for the $25 million campground improvement program from 2012 to 2016 and also managed the planning and development of various other outdoor recreation facilities including trails and greenways, boating facilities and picnic areas over his decades of service; and
WHEREAS, Dave was also heavily involved in the development of joint stormwater control and recreation projects such as Busse Reservoir in Elk Grove Village; and
WHEREAS, Dave was responsible for the administration of federal grants for major regional trails and negotiation of many joint benefit land use projects involving connections to the forest preserve trail system; and
WHEREAS, a number of plans and projects managed by Dave received awards and accolades from state and national professional landscape architecture associations; and
WHEREAS, Dave is also an avid outdoorsman and former resident watchman with keen skills in observing birds, fish, and wildlife, and managed projects to support their protection, including the installation of osprey nesting platforms at key locations in the Forest Preserves; and
WHEREAS, Dave is a devoted husband to wife Catherine O’Keefe and son Timothy and enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends at lakes in Illinois and other Great Lakes states and will now be exploring and observing birds, fish, and wildlife in the state of Florida; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that President Toni Preckwinkle along with the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners, General Superintendent Arnold L. Randall, and on behalf of all residents of Cook County, do hereby extend thanks to David H. Kircher for his dedication, leadership and outstanding service and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to David H. Kircher in recognition of his significant contributions to the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
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