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PROPOSED MISCELLANEOUS ITEM OF BUSINESS
REQUEST TO REGISTER A PORTION OF ELIZABETH CONKEY WOODS AS AN ILLINOIS NATURE PRESERVE
Department: Department of Resource Management
Summary: Requesting authority, pursuant to Section 9 of the Cook County Forest Preserve District Act (70 ILCS 810/9), to dedicate a portion of Elizabeth Conkey Woods as an Illinois Nature Preserve with the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission (“INPC”).
This dedication contributes to one of the key goals set forward in the Next Century Conservation Plan to dedicate and register 20,000 acres with the INPC by 2025. Dedication of a site as a Nature Preserve provides the highest level of protection for land in Illinois, and is granted only to natural areas of important natural and cultural significance.
The proposed Elizabeth Conkey Woods Nature Preserve is an approximately 180-acre portion of the preserves located in the villages of Crestwood and Palos Heights in southwest Cook County. The site consists of mesic oak woodlands and mesic floodplain forest adjoining Tinley Creek, and is home to several species identified as being in greatest need of conservation. The site also contains important cultural resources of state-wide significance which merit its dedication and protection.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”) currently has twenty-five (25) dedicated Nature Preserves and four (4) Land and Water Reserves. The addition of Elizabeth Conkey Woods would bring the Forest Preserves’ total INPC protected lands to approximately 10,050 acres.
It is respectfully requested that authority be granted to Forest Preserves to submit Elizabeth Conkey Woods to the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission for review and formal dedication as an Illinois Nature Preserve.
District(s): 6
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