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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE FRIENDS OF NORTHBROOK FOREST PRESERVE
WHEREAS, Somme Woods, Somme Prairie Nature Preserve, and Somme Prairie Grove Nature Preserve are located in the Village of Northbrook in northeast Cook County and include natural ecosystems from shaded woodland to sun-dappled savanna and finally to wide open prairie; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves of Cook County acknowledges that the forest preserves in Cook County are located on the ancestral homelands of the Council of Three Fires, a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe (or Chippewa), Ottawa (or Odawa), and Potawatomi North American Native tribes. These lands have also been home and a place of trade for many other tribes, including the Fox, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Meskwaki, Miami, and Sauk people; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves pioneering habitat restoration efforts were originally focused mostly on sites where volunteer groups had offered to do large parts of the work given that in 1989 the Forest Preserve had only a handful of staff for the ecological management of 55,000 acres; and
WHEREAS, the Friends of the Northbrook Forest Preserves was organized in 1998 under the guidance of concerned community members Jay Risk, Linda Masters, Shari Leyshan, Stephen Packard, Mike Beeftink and others to provide additional stewardship and educational resources for the Forest Preserves that border the Village of Northbrook on the west, north, and east; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserve and the Village of Northbrook have long worked together to promote public benefit of these preserves; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Forest Preserve Board through its Next Century Plan has ratified plans for expanded resources for ecological restoration and simultaneously approved the Somme preserves as high priorities on the basis of their quality and importance; and
WHEREAS, for decades the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves have contributed thousands of hours of work every year to restore the health and biodiversity of Northbrook’s Forest Preserves through two or more sponsored events per week, 52 weeks a year; and
WHEREAS, most of the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves work is “on the ground” ecological restoration, which has made Northbrook a model for other communities; and
WHEREAS, for brush control, prescribed burns, chainsaw safety, invasive species control and other techniques, volunteers are trained by Forest Preserve staff and by experienced mentor volunteer leaders; and
WHEREAS, the volunteers are also trained by the Chicago Botanic Garden, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Bird Conservation Network, Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network and the Calling Frog Survey of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and the Chicago Wilderness Alliance to perform all the restoration and protection duties; and
WHEREAS, the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves also organize public events to promote community wide education and appreciation of the Forest Preserves; and
WHEREAS, the Friends Group is best known for their New Year’s Bonfire Celebration that has drawn hundreds of neighbors annually every year since 1998 (with two years skipped due to Covid); and
WHEREAS, Somme Prairie Grove was dedicated in 2021 by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission as an Illinois Nature Preserve representing one of the oldest and most comprehensive savanna and woodland restorations in the Midwest. This is credited in part to the longstanding participation of the dedicated and talented citizen volunteers of the Friends of the Northbrook Forest Preserves; and
WHEREAS, the benefits of Northbrook’s forest preserves restoration to the residents of Northbrook and nearby towns include flood-water retention, erosion control, air-quality benefits, carbon sequestration (mostly in the soil, where two-thirds of terrestrial carbon is stored), and the opportunity to enjoy beautiful and inspiring nature.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners, and General Superintendent of the Forest Preserves of Cook County Arnold Randall do hereby acknowledge and recognize the dedicated stewardship of Somme Woods, the Somme Prairie Nature Preserve and the Somme Prairie Grove Nature Preserve; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the talented stewards and all participants of the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves be hereby memorialized by name and that a suitable copy of this Resolution be presented to the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves in gratitude for their current and future service to the sustainability and beauty of our community:
Nehru Arunasalam- Herbicide license; Alberto Ayerza- Certified chain sawyers; John Bachta- Workday regulars; Mike Beefink- Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Tom Bragiel- Certified chain sawyers; Dave Bradley- Workday regulars; Lew Brashares- Certified chain sawyers, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Josh Breer- Youth Committee/Instagram task force; Amy Broussard- Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Herbicide license; Dan Buntley- Certified chain sawyers; Jen Chen- Workday regulars; John Cherry- Steward of Chipilly Woods, Plant Monitor; Ryan Chew- Butterfly Monitors; Kim Ciba- Treat bakers at volunteer events; Andrew Condrell- Youth committee/Instagram task force; Sonia Cohen- Workday regular; Kaitlin Cywinski - Youth committee/Instagram task force; Tom Dallinger- Trails maintenance; Dan Delaney- Workday regulars; Rett Donnelly- Certified chain sawyers; Carl Dietrich- Calling Frog Monitors; Mark Dietrich- Calling Frog Monitors; Jeanne Dunning- Arts & Graphics; Christos Economou- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Recruitment leads, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Diana Economou- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Philip Elcock- Herbicide license; Matt Evans- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Safety task force, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Shrub and young oak stewardship, Tool maintenance task force, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Erin Faulkner- Certified chain sawyers; Ben Fisher- Certified chain sawyers; Beata Fiszer- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast; Melissa Foster- Bird Monitors; Allen Giedraitis- Certified chain sawyers; Bruce Gonzalez - Workday regulars, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Ezra Goodman-Lucker- Recruitment leads; Rae Goodman-Lucker- Herbicide license, Recruitment leads; Kerrick Goodman-Lucker- Herbicide license; Danielle Green- Butterfly Monitors; Mahesh Gurung- High School & College faculty partners; Joe Handwerker- Trails maintenance, Certified chain sawyers; Stone Hansard- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Brush Pile Burn Leader; Rebecca Hartz- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Calling Frog Monitors, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration Team, Arts & Graphics, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Jim Hensel- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Trails maintenance, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Tool maintenance task force, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Friends of Chicago River Day Somme Woods site captain, Treat bakers at volunteer events, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Media & communications group, Arts & Graphics, Recruitment Leads, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Sheila Hollins- Shrub and young oak stewardship; Jeff Hoyer-High School & College faculty partners; Pat Johns- Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Media & communications group; Dan Kasberger- Certified chain sawyers; Paula Kessler- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Brush pile burn leader certification, Seed harvest, prep and broadcast, Herbicide license; Peter Kim- Certified chain sawyers, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Matt Knoop- Workday regulars; Eriko Kojima- Steward of Somme Grove Prairie Nature Preserve, Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Workday leader certification, Representative to FPD Key Stewards meetings, Plant Monitors, Calling Frog Monitors, Shrub and young oak stewardship, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Media & communications group, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Katie Kucera- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Workday leader certification Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Cole Lanham- High School & College faculty partners; Emma Leavens- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Plant Monitors, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Evan Letourneau- Certified Chain Sawyers; Laurie Leibowitz- Butterfly Monitors; Danny Leggio- Bird Monitors; John Mahal- Trails maintenance, Certified chain sawyers; Marty Maneck- New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team; Tim Martin- High School & College faculty partners; Linda Masters- Steward of Somme Woods, Workday leader certification, Representative to FPD Key Stewards meetings, Tool maintenance task force, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Treat bakers at volunteer events, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Chris McMartin- Workday regulars; John McMartin- Safety task force, Trails maintenance, Certified chain sawyers, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certification, Herbicide license, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Bob Miller- Trails maintenance; Chris Monaghan- Bird Monitors; Wangiu Mou- Workday regulars; Lisa Musgrave- Steward of Somme Prairie Nature Preserve, Workday leader certification, Representative to FPD Key Stewards meetings, Plant Monitors, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Volodymyr Nevirkovets- Butterfly Monitors; Carole Ortiz- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Treat bakers at volunteer events, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Media & communications group; Stephen Packard- Steward of Somme Grove Prairie Nature Preserve, Workday leader certification, Plant Monitors, Bird Monitors, Tour leaders, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves Convenors; John Paterson- Seed harvest, prep and broadcast, Herbicide license, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Arts & Graphics, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Mike Piskel- Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Stephanie Place- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Safety task force, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Shrub and young oak stewardship, Media and communications group, Arts & Graphics, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves Convenors; Sai Ramakrishna- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Safety task force, Certified chain sawyers, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Workday leader certification, Representative to FPD Key Steward meetings, Plant Monitor, Shrub and young oak stewardship, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Tour leaders; Sofie Richter- Youth committee/Instagram task force; Laurel Ross- Steward of Somme Prairie Nature Preserve, Workday leader certification, Plant Monitors, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Ed Samson- Safety task force, Tool maintenance task force, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration Team, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Russ Sala- Trails maintenance, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Herbicide license, Tool maintenance task force, New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Ken Schafer- Shrub and young oak stewardship; Ron Schrag- Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Denise Shuty- Workday regulars; Jonathan Sladek- Certified chain sawyers; Rob Sulski- Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Tour leaders; Paul Swanson- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Workday leader certification, Representative to FPD Key Stewards meeting, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Steve Tattleman- New Year’s Bonfire Celebration team, Media & communications group, Arts & Graphics, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors; Amanda Tichacek- Bird Monitors; Estelle Ure-Safety task force, Trails maintenance, Certified chain sawyers, Workday leader certification, Tool maintenance task force, Brush PIle Burn Leader Certificate; Kathy Wassman- Brush Pile Burn Leader Certification, Treat bakers at volunteer events; Joe Walsh- High School & College faculty partners; Joel Weiner-High School & College faculty partners; George Westlund- Herbicide license; Donna Wittert- Zone Steward of Somme Woods, Seed harvest, prep & broadcast, Treat bakers at volunteer events, Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves convenors, Tour leaders, Media & communications group, Brush Pile Burn Leader Certificate; Mike Zarski- Shrub and young oak stewardship.end