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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY FOR RECEIVING A CHICAGO WILDERNESS EXCELLENCE IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AWARD AND A CHICAGO WILDERNESS GEORGE B. RABB FORCE OF NATURE AWARD
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2021, the Forest Preserves of Cook County's Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve was honored with a Platinum Accreditation, the highest accreditation, from the Chicago Wilderness Excellence in Ecological Restoration Program and the Forest Preserves' Greater Maywood Paddling Program was honored with a Chicago Wilderness George B. Rabb Force of Nature Award during a ceremony held at the Forest Preserves' Thatcher Woods Pavilion in River Forest; and
WHEREAS, the Excellence in Ecological Restoration Program recognizes high-quality natural areas in the Chicago region and highlights projects that set an example of best practices in natural resource management and ecological restoration; and
WHEREAS, Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve is a 380-acre state-dedicated nature preserve in Willow Springs and is located within the 14,000-acre Palos/Sag Valley Forest Preserve system that comprises the largest contiguous tract of forest preserve habitat; and
WHEREAS, Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve is distinguished by its peat bog, remnant woodland, oak savanna, and natural prairie communities and it contains glacial kettlehole depressions that support vernal ponds, marsh, and sedge meadow habitats; and
WHEREAS, restoration at Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve began in the 1990s, led by volunteer stewards, and was accelerated in 2015 when the Forest Preserves secured funding to initiate a major restoration project, which included removal of invasive brush, selective tree thinning, and stream restoration along Crooked Creek which flows through the nature preserve; and
WHEREAS, today Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve is a thriving, high quality natural area thanks to ecological restoration efforts of volunteers and staff; and
WHEREAS, the George B. ...
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