www.outdoors.chicago.il.us >> The Unofficial Cook County Forest Preserve District Page >>

A cooperative effort of:

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County
The USDA Forest Service
The Nature Conservancy

The Volunteer Stewardship Network

John H. Stroger, Jr. President
Joseph N. Nevius, General Superintendent

Introduction | Volunteer Groups | More Information | About this page

Do you love nature?

Join the growing network of
volunteers who restore habitat
for plants and animals in the
Forest Preserve District
of Cook County.

Two hundred years ago, Cook County was a mosaic of vast prairies, oak woodlands, and wetlands. As settlers moved in, and Chicago was built, these wild lands were used for wood lots, farms, roads, factories, and housing. The only wild places remaining came to be in lands protected by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

But nature needs help! Over time, due to interruption of natural processes, invading brush has grown into the prairies, shading out the sun loving plants. Plants not native to this area choke the wetlands and oak woodlands. The animals that depend on native vegetation are becoming rarer, because they cannot find food and shelter.

You can help solve these problems!

Restoration volunteers and FPD staff clear away invading brush, plant native flowers and trees, and restore habitat for animals. Volunteers are vital in resurrecting the nearly lost wild places of Cook County. The goal is to restore 80% of all FPD land.

Volunteers are gathered into regional groups, organized as the Volunteer Stewardship Network (VSN) The VSN, supported jointly by The Nature Conservancy and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, provides the training and tools used for ecosystem restoration.

For more information about volunteering,
call the Forest Preserve District of Cook
County Volunteer Office at (708) 257-2045.
Area code 630 after Aug.3, 1996

Cover Page | Volunteer Groups | More Information | About this page

Volunteer Stewardship Network Groups in Cook County

Northern Cook
North Branch Prairie Project

The North Branch Prairie Project volunteers are committed to preserving natural wild communities as a permanent part of our local landscapes. The volunteers help manage and restore prairies, oak savannas, and forest.

[CLONK notes: this volunteer group is now the North Branch Restoration Project.]

Mostly located along the North Branch of the Chicago River, these sites have a rich variety of habitats for native plants and animals. Wet prairies are filled with grasslike sedges, flowers, and the sounds of frogs. The grasses and flowers of the prairies are home to many species of butterflies and birds. Woodlands, ranging from open, sunny oak savannas to deep forest, shelter rare plants and animals. Join North Branch Prairie Project volunteers as they restore nature's treasures!

Western Cook
DesPlaines River Valley
Restoration Project

The volunteers of the DesPlaines River Valley Project are working to restore and manage prairies and oak woodlands. Two unusual sites that are being restored are Wolf Road Prairie, the largest black silt loam prairie in Illinois, and a dolomite prairie at Theodore Stone Woods.

Due to volunteer efforts, the rare flowers and grasses of these and other sites are making a comeback. Restoration activities are vigorous and fun: Cutting brush, planting seeds, prescribed burning, and pulling non-native weeds. Other volunteer activities include growing rare plants for seed, leading nature walks, monitoring birds, photography, and newsletter writing. Being a volunteer is always fun with the Des Plaines River Valley Restoration Project!

Northwestern Cook
Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards
Deer Grove Restoration Project

The Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards and Deer Grove Restoration Project volunteers are restoring native habitat to large Forest Preserves in northwestern Cook County.

Habitats being restored include prairie, sedge meadow, oak savanna, and forest. The restoration site at Poplar Creek includes a nine-acre gravel hill prairie that is designated an Illinois Nature Preserve. At Deer Grove, the areas under restoration are forest and oak savanna.

Both of these groups restore the beauty and biodiversity of the land, and have fun, too!

Southwestern Cook
Palos Restoration Project

At 14,000 acres, the Palos and Sag Valley comprise the largest block of Cook County Forest Preserve holding. Large and small-scale restoration projects are in progress to reinvigorate the natural landscape.

Among the many sites currently undergoing restoration are Cap Sauers Holdings, whose 1,600 acres make it the largest roadless tract in Cook County, and Paddock Woods, where a bend in the trail opens to the foot of "Trillium Hill." Spears Woods is home to birds, butterflies, and salamanders, while Black Partridge Woods boasts the earliest local display of spring wildflowers. Many unusual and endangered species of plants and animals have made their homes in the patchwork of bluffs, marshes, oak groves, and open prairies of this diverse landscape. The Palos Restoration Project volunteers are committed to the total restoration of this unique and spectacular region.

Southeastern Cook
Calumet Prairie Restoration

The Calumet Prairie Restoration volunteers help manage and restore the Forest Preserves of the Calumet region.

Located on the gradually descending ancient beaches of the Lake Plain, the restoration sites in the Calumet region host unusual plants that thrive in the sandy soil. Many migratory birds stop over and breed in the rich wetlands.

Join the Calumet Prairie Restoration volunteers as they bring back the natural beauty of this rare and fragile landscape.

For more information, call the Forest
Preserve District of Cook County
Volunteer Office at 708-257-2045.
Area Code 630 after 8-3-96

Cover Page | Introduction | More Information | About this page

People Working Together
to Help Nature

Phone: 708-257-2045
Area Code 630 after Aug.3, 1996

Forest Preserve District
of Cook County
536 N. Harlem Ave.
River Forest, IL 60305

Phones: 708-771-1330,
1-800-870-3666,
T.D.D.708-771-1190 (Hearing Impaired)

Board of Forest Preserve Commisioners

John H. Stroger, Jr. President
Jerry Butler
Allan C. Carr
John P. Daley
Danny K. Davis
Barclay Fleming
Carl R. Hansen
Ted Lechowicz
Roberto Maldonado

Joseph Mario Moreno
Maria Pappas
Herbert T. Schumann, Jr.
Richard A. Siebel
Peter N. Silvestri
Deborah Sims
Bobbie L. Steele
Calvin R. Sutker

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in District programs and services. Persons believing they have been discriminated against on the basis of color, race, national origin, sex, or disability may file a complaint alleging discrimination with either the Forest Preserve District of Cook Country or the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Washingtion, D.C.

Cover Page | Introduction | Volunteer Groups | About this page

About this page...

This page is based on a publication of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois, prepared for the web as a public service by CLONK. This web site is unofficial, and not associated in any with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. CLONK is not responsible for any errors, either in the original publication or in the web version. CLONK cautions that items such as names of public servants and telephone numbers are subject to change! This web version was completed in Spring, 2000.

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