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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY'S DEER GROVE WEST WETLAND AND WOODLAND NATURE PRESERVE FOR RECEIVING A CHICAGO WILDERNESS EXCELLENCE IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AWARD, AND THE FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY'S CONSERVATION CORPS AND FLORA OF THE CHICAGO REGION FOR EACH RECEIVING A CHICAGO WILDERNESS FORCE OF NATURE AWARD
WHEREAS, on November 14, 2019, the Forest Preserves of Cook County's Deer Grove West Wetland and Woodland Nature Preserve was honored with a Platinum Accreditation, the highest accreditation possible, from the Chicago Wilderness Excellence in Ecological Restoration Program and the Forest Preserves' Conservation Corps and the publication Flora of the Chicago Region by Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha were both honored with a Chicago Wilderness George B. Rabb Force of Nature Award at a ceremony at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the Excellence in Ecological Restoration Program recognizes the organizations managing the largest and highest-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, the 240-acre project area that received Platinum Accreditation is part of the 1,950-acre Deer Grove West Wetland and Woodland Nature Preserve located in Palatine, Illinois that supports savanna, dry-mesic upland forest, mesic upland forest, wet floodplain forest, sedge meadow and wetland communities that collectively provide habitat for hundreds of native plant and animal species; and
WHEREAS, Deer Grove Natural Areas Volunteers began restoration work at the site over 20 years ago, and in 2015 the Forest Preserves and Openlands expanded on this work through O'Hare Modernization Mitigation Account funding to remove invasive species, maintain the ecological health of existing habitat and restore hydrology to the site's wetland habitat; and
WHEREAS, today Deer Grove Wes...
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