Forest Preserve District of Cook County


The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are mostly set aside as natural areas. Cook County contains Chicago, and is the center of the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserve lands encompass approximately, about 11% of the County, providing open space within its urban surroundings. It contains facilities for recreation, as well as a zoo and a botanic garden.

Background

Most often being left more in their natural state, the Forest Preserves have a different purpose than urban parks; also they generally do not contain organized recreational facilities such as tennis courts or softball diamonds. They do contain hiking, bicycling, and riding trails, as well as facilities for nature and group activities, and they are heavily used for picnicking. They are administered by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, a special taxation district that crosses municipal boundaries. The districts headquarters is located in River Forest near Harlem Avenue and Lake Street.
While the Forest Preserve District as a unit of government and municipal corporation is legally separate from Cook County, the latter's board of commissioners, the county board's president, commissioners and clerk hold the same offices ex officio concurrently, making up the Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners.
In 1905, at the instigation of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and private nature groups partly guided by prominent landscape architect Jens Jensen, Illinois adopted a forest preserve act. However defects in the law caused it to be declared inoperable. The Forest Preserve District Association was formed in 1911 and a new state law was adopted, however, the courts declared the 1911 law unconstitutional. Finally in 1913, the State adopted a Forest Preserve Act that survived legal challenge. The 1913 law allowed a county board:
A Cook County referendum required by the 1913 law was passed by voters in 1914, establishing the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and the first Board meeting was held in February 1915.

Operations

In addition to owning and managing tens of thousands of acres of forest, meadow, and wetlands, both the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Gardens are located on district land. The Forest Preserve District also maintains eleven public golf courses. There are six nature centers used for programming and education, five campgrounds, and three swimming centers. In 2016, a tree-top zipline course was opened in west Cook County's Bemis Woods.

National sites

The Ned Brown Forest Preserve contains Busse Woods, a National Natural Landmark. The District also administers the Chicago Portage National Historic Site. In addition, the District's Red Gate Woods was the war-time home of the Manhattan Project's first nuclear facility.

Conservation

Biologists with the district monitor the health of area wild life, lands, and water. This includes monitoring such populations as the number of fish in area rivers, and the return in the 21st century after a century of absence of such apex predators as the river otter. Twenty-two sections of district land, which contain high quality conservation resources, have been designated as Illinois Nature Preserves allowing greater management and protection.

Trail systems

There are thirteen trail systems within the preserve district, they are the:

Region 1: Northwest Cook County

Poplar Creek Division
Includes: Spring Lake Preserve, Crabtree Preserve, Arthur L. Janura Preserve
Activity Areas
Barrington Road Pond
Beverly Lake
Bluff Springs Fen
Bode East
Bode Lake
Crabtree Nature Center
Great Egret Family Picnic Area
Old Stover Trailhead
Penny Road Pond
Poplar Creek Bicycle Lot
Poplar Creek Equestrian Parking
Poplar Creek Model Airplane Flying Field
Shoe Factory Road Woods
Spring Creek Valley Headwaters
Spring Lake Nature Preserve
Trail Systems
Crabtree Preserve
Poplar Creek
Poplar Creek
Spring Lake

Region 2: Northwest Cook County

Northwest Division
Includes: Deer Grove Preserve, Jens Jensen Preserve, Paul Douglas Preserve, Ned Brown Preserve
Activity Areas
Baker's Lake Overlook
Baker's Lake Younghusband Prairie
Busse Forest-Central
Busse Forest-North
Busse Forest-South
Busse Forest-West
Busse Forest Elk Pasture
Busse Forest Main Dam
Busse Lake Beisner Road Access
Busse Lake Boating Center
Camp Alphonse
Camp Reinberg
Deer Grove
Deer Grove-East
Deer Grove-West
Deer Grove Lake
Grassy Ridge Meadow
Highland Woods Driving Range
Highland Woods Golf Course
Ned Brown Meadow
Woodland Meadow
Trail Systems
Busse Forest
Deer Grove
Deer Grove
Paul Douglas

Region 3: North Cook County

Indian Boundary Division, Des Plaines Division
Includes: Seymour Simon Preserve
Activity Areas
Allison Woods
Axehead Lake
Beck Lake
Belleau Lake
Big Bend Lake
Blandings Grove Family Picnic Area
Blue Beach Family Picnic Area
Camp Baden Powell
Camp Dan Beard
Camp Ground Road Woods
Camp Pine Woods
Catherine Chevalier Woods
Che-Che-Pin-Qua Woods
Chippewa Woods
Dam No. 1 Woods-East
Dam No. 1 Woods-West
Dam No. 2 Woods
Dam No. 4 Woods-East
Evans Field
Fullerton Woods
Fullerton Woods Family Picnic Area
Harry H. Semrow Driving Range
Indian Boundary Family Picnic Area
Indian Boundary Golf Course
Iroquois Woods
Irving Park Road Canoe Landing
Jerome Huppert Woods
John E. Traeger Family Picnic Area
Kloempken Prairie
Lake Avenue Woods-East
Lake Avenue Woods-West
Lions Woods
Massasauga Family Picnic Area
Northwestern Woods
Potawatomi Lake
Potawatomi Woods
River Bend Family Picnic Area
River Trail Nature Center
Robinson Homestead Family Picnic Area
Robinson Woods-South
Schiller Model Airplane Flying Field
Schiller Playfield
Schiller Pond
Schiller Woods-East
Schiller Woods-South
Schiller Woods-West
Sunset Bridge Meadow
Trail System
Des Plaines

Region 4: North Cook County

North Branch Division, Skokie Division
Includes: William N. Erickson Preserves, George F. Nixon Forest, Frank Bobrytzke Forest, Clayton F. Smith Preserves, Roman Pucinski Preserve
Activity Areas
Billy Caldwell Golf Course
Blue Star Memorial Woods
Bunker Hill
Caldwell Woods
Calvin R. Sutker Grove
Camp Adahi
Camp Glenview
Chick Evans Golf Course
Chipilly Woods
Edgebrook Golf Course
Edgebrook Woods
Erickson Woods
Forest Glen Woods
Forest Way Grove
Glen Grove Equestrian Center
Glenview Woods
Harms Woods-Central
Harms Woods-North
Harms Woods-South
Irene C. Hernandez Family Picnic Area
LaBagh Woods
Linne Woods
Little House of Glencoe
Mary Mix McDonald Woods
Mathew Bieszczat–Volunteer Resource Center
Miami Woods
Perkins Woods
St. Paul Woods
Sidney Yates Flatwoods
Skokie Lagoons
Somme Nature Preserve
Somme Prairie Grove
Somme Woods
Thaddeus S. “Ted” Lechowicz Woods
Tower Road
Tower Road Boat Launch
Turnbull Woods
Watersmeet Woods
Wayside Woods
Whealan Pool Aquatic Center
Special Activity Site
Chicago Botanic Garden
Trail Systems
North Branch
North Branch

Region 5: West Cook County

Salt Creek Division
Activity Areas
Andrew Toman Grove
Bemis Woods-North
Bemis Woods-South
Brezina Woods
Brookfield Woods
Callahan Grove
Cermak Family Aquatic Center
Cermak Quarry
Cermak Woods
Cummings Square
G.A.R. Woods
Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum
LaGrange Park Woods
Maywood Grove
McCormick Woods
Meadowlark Golf Course
Miller Meadow-North
Miller Meadow-South
National Grove-North
National Grove-South
Ottawa Trail Woods-North
Ottawa Trail Woods-South
Plank Road Meadow Boat Launch
Possum Hollow Woods
Quercus Woods Family Picnic Area
Salt Creek Woods
Schuth's Grove
Silver Creek Family Picnic Area
Stony Ford Canoe Landing
Thatcher Woods
Thatcher Woods Glen
Thomas Jefferson Woods
Twenty-Sixth Street Woods-East
Twenty-Sixth Street Woods-West
Westchester Woods
White Eagle Woods-North
White Eagle Woods-South
Wolf Road Prairie
Zoo Woods
Trail Systems
Salt Creek
Salt Creek
Salt Creek Greenway
Special Activity Sites
Brookfield Zoo
Chicago Portage National Historic Site

Region 6: Southwest Cook County

Salt Creek Division, Palos Division
Includes: Palos Preserves
Activity Areas
Arie Crown Forest
Belly Deep Slough
Buffalo Woods-Central
Buffalo Woods Family Picnic Area
Buffalo Woods-North
Buffalo Woods-South
Bullfrog Lake
Camp Kiwanis Equestrian Staging Area
Columbia Woods
Country Lane Woods
Cranberry Slough
Crawdad Slough
Crooked Creek Woods
Dan McMahon Woods
Henry De Tonty Woods
Hickory Hills Woods
Hidden Pond Woods-East
Hidden Pond Woods-West
Joe's Pond
John Husar I&M Canal–Bicycle Trail Parking Lot
Lake Ida
Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center
Maple Lake Boating Center
Maple Lake-East
Maple Lake
Maple Lake Overlook
Morrill Meadow
Palos Fen
Paw Paw Woods
Pioneer Woods
Pulaski Woods
Pulaski Woods-East
Pulaski Woods-South–Mountain Bike Staging Area
Red Gate Woods
Saganashkee Slough-Central
Saganashkee Slough-East
Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch
Spears Woods
Sundown Meadow
Theodore Stone Forest
Tuma Lake
White Oak Woods
Willow Springs Woods
Wolf Road Woods
Trail Systems
Arie Crown
Centennial
John Husar I&M Canal
Palos

Region 7: Southwest Cook County

Sag Valley Division
Includes: Black Partridge Preserve, Cap Sauer's Preserve, John J. Duffy Preserve, Edward M. Sneed Forest
Activity Areas
Bergman Slough
Black Partridge Woods
Cap Sauers Holding
Cherry Hill Woods
Forty Acre Woods
Horsetail Lake
McGinnis Slough
McClaughrey Spring Woods
Orland Grassland
Orland Grove
Paddock Woods
Palos Park Woods-North
Palos Park Woods-South
Papoose Lake
Sag Quarries
Sagawau Environmental Learning Center
Southland Volunteer Resource Center
Swallow Cliff Woods-North
Swallow Cliff Woods-South
Tampier Greenway Family Picnic Area
Tampier Lake Boating Center
Tampier Lake-North
Tampier Lake-West
Teason's Woods
Trail Systems
Centennial
Sag Valley

Region 8: South Cook County

Tinley Creek Division
Includes: South Green Belt Preserve
Activity Areas
Arrowhead Lake
Bachelor's Grove Woods
Bartel Grassland
Bobolink Family Picnic Area
Bremen Grove
Bur Oak Woods
Camp Falcon
Camp Sullivan
Carlson Springs Woods
Catalina Grove Family Picnic Area
Coopers Hawk Grove Family Picnic Area
Elizabeth A. Conkey Forest-North
Elizabeth A. Conkey Forest-South
Flossmoor Road Bicycle Lot
George W. Dunne National Driving Range
George W. Dunne National Golf Course
Goeselville Grove Family Picnic Area
Midlothian Meadows
Midlothian Reservoir
Rubio Woods
St. Mihiel Woods-East
Tinley Creek Model Airplane Flying Field
Tinley Creek Woods
Turtlehead Lake
Vollmer Road Grove
Yankee Woods
Trail Systems
Tinley Creek
Tinley Creek

Region 9: Southeast Cook County

Calumet Division, Thorn Creek Division
Includes: Plum Creek Preserve
Activity Areas
Beaubien Woods
Beaubien Woods Boat Launch
Brownell Woods
Burnham Prairie Nature Preserve
Burnham Woods Golf Course
Calumet City Playfield
Calumet City Prairie
Calumet Woods
Clayhole Woods
Dan Ryan Woods-91st Street
Dan Ryan Woods-Central
Dan Ryan Woods-East
Dan Ryan Woods-North
Dan Ryan Woods-South
Dan Ryan Woods-West
Dixmoor Playfield
Eggers Grove
Flatfoot Lake
Glenwood Woods-North
Glenwood Woods-South
Green Lake Family Aquatic Center
Green Lake Woods
Indian Hill Woods
Joe Louis “The Champ” Golf Course
Joe Orr Woods
Jurgensen Woods
Kickapoo Woods
King's Grove
Lansing Woods
Little Calumet Boat Launch
Michael J. O’Malley Preserve
North Creek Meadow
Plum Creek Play Meadow
Powderhorn Lake
River Oaks Golf Course
Sand Ridge Nature Center
Sand Ridge Prairie Nature Preserve
Sauk Lake
Sauk Trail Woods-Central
Sauk Trail Woods-East
Sauk Trail Woods-North
Sauk Trail Woods-South
Schubert's Woods
Shabbona Woods
Sweet Woods
Thorn Creek Model Airplane Flying Field
Thornton-Lansing Road–Nature Preserve
Wampum Lake
Wentworth Prairie
Whistler Woods
Woodrow Wilson Woods
Trail Systems
Burnham Greenway
Major Taylor
Plum Creek
Thorn Creek
Thorn Creek