‘In one fell swoop,’ District expands by 500 acres for second largest acquisition in history

After eyeing a large piece of property in eastern Will County since the 1970s, the Forest Preserve closed on the parcel this summer, making it the second largest property acquisition in the District’s history.

The 495.27-acre parcel is north of Illinois 394, adjacent to Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve in Crete Township.

A land purchase of this size is rare nowadays as more and more of Will County is developed. The property has been mostly undisturbed except for farming. It includes the origins of Plum Creek and moraines carved by glaciers thousands of years ago.

Colleen Novander, director of planning and land preservation, said it will be rewarding to see the land restored and developed in future years so native species and Will County residents can benefit from it.

“Regardless of its size, it’s just knowing that we’re protecting it into perpetuity,” she said. “That’s exciting and it’s for everyone.”

The addition is now part of a 3,300-acre Plum Creek Greenway acquisition program that began in 1938 and is nearing completion. And it pushes the Goodenow Grove Preserve to from 891 acres to 1,386, making it the second largest preserve in the District. Only Hickory Creek Preserve at 1,541 acres is larger. 

The Crete Township acquisition is part of a $50 million Capital Improvement Program the District launched last year to preserve as much open space in Will County as possible before more of it is lost to warehouses, strip malls and subdivisions. Of the $50 million, $25 million has been earmarked for land acquisition.

The Forest Preserve’s goal is to protect 1,100 acres, and so far the District has acquired 747 acres. The Crete Township parcel cost $4.3 million.

“We try to focus on areas that really enhance our existing holdings,” Novander said.s

The new land will buffer and protect the nature preserve, Plum Creek, the creek’s greenway, and the threatened and endangered species already known to exist there. The parcel also could be used to extend the Vincennes Trail on an old abandoned rail line corridor that runs through the new property.

Now that the property has been acquired, Novander said a land use plan will be created by assessing the topography to map wetlands, possible access points and recreational potential.

“That usually takes us about a year, and we’ll kick that off in the upcoming months,” she said. “Once we have that in place, then we will go further into it from a planning and real estate perspective and come up with a master plan.”

The master plan will outline where trails, picnic shelters and connections to Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve will be placed.

Only the Forest Preserve’s 1991 Lake Renwick Preserve acquisition in Plainfield was larger at just over 500 acres.

But to acquire a piece of land almost as big 34 years later is quite the achievement, said Dave Robson, the Forest Preserve’s natural resource management supervisor. He noted that the new parcel makes up around 2 percent of the District’s almost 24,000 acres.

“So, in one fell swoop, we picked up 2% of all the property and acres we own across the county,” Robson said. “That does not happen every day. Not just for Will County. All the local conservation organizations and forest preserve districts.

“Acquiring 500 acres in one fell swoop is once in a career,” he added. “It doesn’t happen. There are hundreds of preserves in northeastern Illinois that are smaller than 500 acres. People love them. We love them. And they’re great. They do all the wonderful things people want them to do. But they’re not 500 acres.”

Now that the land has been acquired, hydrology will be assessed and baseline inventories will be performed so staff know where threatened and endangered species may be located on the property and what other species are present.

“We really need to make sure we keep the best of what is here when we acquire it,” he said. “… We start with the highest quality chunks that are left and we work our way out to the property boundaries.”