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PROPOSED MISCELLANEOUS ITEM OF BUSINESS
Department: Resource Management
Summary: Requesting authority, pursuant to Section 9 of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County Act (70 ILCS810/9), to submit Harms Woods for Illinois Nature Preserve ("INP") dedication.
This dedication contributes to one of the key goals set forward in the Next Century Conservation Plan to dedicate 20,000 acres by 2025 as INPs. Dedication of a site as an INP provides the highest level of protection for land in Illinois, and is granted only to natural areas of exceptional ecological quality.
Harms Woods is an approximately 170 acre preserve adjacent to the Village of Glenview in northeast Cook County. The site consists of high quality mesic oak woodlands, mesic upland forest, and floodplain forest along the Chicago River, which divides the preserve in half. Ecological management of the site began in the 1980s by volunteers and Forest Preserves of Cook County staff, and today the site remains under management by a vibrant volunteer community. The site features beautiful woodlands, a diverse set of wildflowers, and a number of rare state-listed species.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”) currently has twenty-four (24) dedicated Nature Preserves and four (4) Land and Water Reserves. The addition of Harms Woods would establish the 25th INP and bring the Forest Preserves’ total INP protected lands to approximately 9,860 acres.
It is respectfully requested that authority be granted to the Forest Preserves to submit Harms Woods to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission for review and formal dedication as an Illinois Nature Preserve.
District(s): 14
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