Current Headlines

The past few months have been something special for rare bird sightings in Will County, but the most recent one is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in the form of a great kiskadee.

Owls, sandhill cranes, and bones and furs will be highlighted during November's episode of 'The Buzz,' which airs at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 25, on Facebook.

A donation of $48,610 from The Nature Foundation of Will County will pay for a Goodenow Grove Campground welcome station, complete with a solar charging station, and for wetland restoration also at Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve. 

Bird migration season can yield some unlikely sightings and birders are flocking to the area around Four Rivers Environmental Education Center after a Eurasian wigeon was spotted in the area over the weekend.

The Forest Preserve's 2021 budget includes funding for numerous improvement projects throughout the District as well as for land acquisition. The overall property tax rate will decrease by 1.57 percent. 

The two longtime volunteers were honored for their service in 2019. The awards were delayed due to COVID-19 and were eventually given out virtually by the Forest Preserve District.

This map is updated daily as another way to notify the public when a prescribed burn is being conducted.

The Forest Preserve has joined the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Trail Moments campaign, which is designed to publicize the safe opportunity trails offer for recreation, fitness and stress relief. Go to the Trail Moments website or share your special #TrailMoments on social media. 

More than 90 online field trip programs have been scheduled or have already taken place as educators seek to keep their students engaged in environmental education during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Game cameras recently photographed bobcats walking through a preserve. Photos of bobcats in the preserves are rare because the creatures are so elusive. Learn more about the game camera program with 10 questions answered by Becky Blankenship, the Forest Preserve's wildlife biologist.

Three hotels built by 14-year-old Luke Lunde of Manhattan and his Scouting crew at Isle a la Cache preserve in Romeoville are attracting solitary bees that nest in cavities and are important pollinators. 

The tortoise, which is not native to Illinois, was found at Hammel Woods around 4 miles from its home, so police believe it was dumped there by someone who found it wandering around its neighborhood after it escaped from its owners' backyard. Dumping animals of any kind in a preserve is against the law because it is harmful to the creatures and the environment. 

Yellow-crowned night herons are a rare sight here, as they generally don't come this far north in Illinois and their breeding grounds are largely along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The free "grab-and-go" containers can be used by anglers to properly store unwanted fishing line, which will keep the line out of the preserves where it could injure or kill wildlife. The containers will be available at three visitor centers.

Naperville resident Bertrand Leclercq is the fourth monthly winner in the contest, which continues through December 31. Overall contest winners will be chosen from among eight monthly finalists in January 2021.