title
PROPOSED GRANT AWARD
Department: Department of Resource Management
Grantee: Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”)
Grantor: The Nature Conservancy ("TNC") via the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (“NFWF”)
Request: Authorization to accept grant
Purpose: To restore and enhance 350 acres of habitat at Burnham Prairie and the Sand Ridge Nature Preserve complex, with partial funding from a TNC-NFWF Sustain Our Great Lakes Program grant of $160,000.00.
Grant Amount: $160,000.00
Grant Period: Date of Execution - 1/31/2022
Fiscal Impact: Not to exceed $200,000.00 in direct match
Accounts: Professional Services 51058.520830, 51051.520830, 51028.520830 and all future Professional Services; Special or Co-op Programs 51058.521313, 51051.521313, 51028.521313 and all future Special or Co-op Programs; Grant and Mitigation 51010.521444
Concurrences:
The Chief Financial Officer and Chief Attorney have approved this item.
District(s): 4
Summary: The Forest Preserves has been sub-awarded funds from The Nature Conservancy via the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Save Our Great Lakes Program in support of habitat restoration at Burnham Prairie and the Sand Ridge complex in the Calumet region.
Burnham Prairie, located in the Village of Burnham, contains sand prairie, sedge meadow, and emergent wetlands that provide valuable habitat for marsh birds. The Sand Ridge complex in Calumet City consists of habitat collectively composing the second largest globally rare dune-and-swale remnant in Illinois. Both sites have been the recipients of significant investments in restoration over the past decade.
Restoration activities will include invasive species control across 50 acres at Burnham Prairie, and 300 acres at Sand Ridge Nature Preserve. The primary targets are invasive brush and wetland species such as purple loosestrife and reed-canary grass. This project will bolster previous restoration efforts at these sites to ensure their long term ecological integrity and expand high-quality habitat by preventing the spread of invasive species that threaten to re-invade recovering areas.
The grant sub-award requires the execution of a subrecipient agreement with TNC. Final agreement is subject to legal review and approval.
Total project costs are $360,000.00, of which the Forest Preserves are providing an amount not to exceed $200,000.00 in direct match.
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