The Cook County Forest Preserves are rolling up their sleeves for a green makeover like no other, with a flashy $10 million tagged to spruce up over 1,000 acres of land in the Palos Preserves. This eco-friendly facelift is looking to kick invasive species to the curb and shine a light on native flora and fauna.
Despite the serene scenes around Red Gate Woods, trodden by trees reaching towards the sky as if they're stretching after a long nap, Eileen Figel, interim general superintendent of the Forest Preserve District, spilled the beans to a group of nature enthusiasts on a recent stroll. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, Figel was sounding the horn about the restoration project's massive scale and its benefits in combating climate change by mitigating flooding and trapping carbon.
Flooding the area with improvements, the plan also includes trail repairs to stop nature lovers from slipping on the job when the gravel gets all wash-away and new signs to keep hikers from playing Marco Polo in the woods. Politicians in sneakers, including Toni Preckwinkle, the multitasking president of both the forest preserve and Cook County boards, even got their feet dirty to celebrate the beginning of the makeover. During their walkabout, Preckwinkle, always the inquisitive former teacher, lobbed a couple of questions at the forest preserve staff about land restoration percentages and snipping away pesky invasive edges.
In a nod to the site's deep historical roots, which stretch way back to tavern days when red gates were en vogue and trolleys still clattered down Archer Avenue, Becky Collings, a senior resource ecologist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County, let slip to politicians and staff about Red Gate Woods' colorful past, the Chicago Tribune revealed.
Cash for the conservation efforts is trickling in from a state grant, with a good chunk of change coming from a property tax hike that's making waves in taxpayers' wallets. Figel assured that those dollars are all about keeping the preserves pretty post-restoration, bringing in more boots on the ground and tools in the shed, from trucks to chainsaws.
With almost half of a 30,000-acre restoration goal already in the rearview mirror, the forest preserves are strutting toward a greener 2040. And if you're wondering about the tangible perks—beyond the whole saving-the-planet spiel—these improvement shenanigans are set to solidify Palos as a haven for adrenaline junkies climbing Swallow Cliff stairs and campers looking up at a sky free of city light sludge.
