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 land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped natural areas and for outdoor recreation. The Forest Preserve District encompasses approximately of land or approximately 11% of the land in Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago and is the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserves also owns the lands on which the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden operate, and its Chicago Portage area preserve is also affiliated with the United States National Park Service.
The Cook [County Board of Commissioners] also serves ex-officio as the board for the district. The Forest Preserve District headquarters is located in River Forest, Illinois.

Background

Forest preserves serve a different purpose than urban parks and are typically maintained for the conservation and restoration of habitat. Forest preserves may contain nature centers and other facilities, picnic groves, and hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, but, apart from public golf courses, do not typically contain land set aside for other sports activities.
The forest preserves are administered by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which operates within a special purpose taxation district across municipal boundaries. While the Forest Preserve District as a unit of government is legally separate from Cook County, the Cook county board of commissioners, the county board president, and county clerk hold the same offices ex officio concurrently, making up the Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners.

History

In 1905, at the instigation of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and private nature groups, Illinois attempted to pass a forest preserve act, but the act was not signed by the governor. The Forest Preserve District Association was formed in 1911 after a new state law was adopted in 1909; however, the courts declared the law unconstitutional in 1911. In 1913, Illinois adopted the Cook County Forest Preserve District Act that was signed by the governor and 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

The Forest Preserve District operates six nature centers used for programming and education, five campgrounds, and three swimming centers as of 2023. The Forest Preserve District also maintains ten public golf courses. 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. In 2016, a tree-top zipline course was opened in west Cook County's Bemis Woods.
Eight significant waterways flow, at least in part, through lands in the Forest Preserve District: the Chicago River, the Des Plaines River, the Little Calumet River, Salt Creek, Poplar Creek, Thorn Creek, Crooked Creek, and Tinley Creek.

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

A team of district biologists and resource management professionals monitor wildlife and plants, water quality, and other features within the district. Monitoring may include counting population numbers and tracking the presence of animals across the district and assessing habitat needs for rare species. Through monitoring, it was discovered that river otters had returned to the district after nearly a century of absence.
The Forest Preserve District owns 22 sites containing high-quality conservation resources that have been designated as Illinois Nature Preserves ensuring increased management and protection. The District's oldest nature center is in a preserved rural one-room schoolhouse built in 1886 and is located in the Palos Division.
The International Dark-Sky Association conservation program designated the Forest Preserve District's Palos Preserves an Urban Night Sky Place. After review, the IDA determined that within the context of its substantial urban setting, the preserve's "planning and design actively promote an authentic nighttime experience in the midst of significant artificial light."

Trail systems

There are thirteen trail systems within the Forest Preserve District:
  • Arie Crown Forest trail system
  • Burnham Greenway trail system
  • Busse Woods bicycle trail
  • Centennial and I&M Canal trail system
  • Deer Grove trail system
  • Des Plaines River Trail system
  • North Branch Trail system
  • Palos Trail system
  • Poplar Creek trail system
  • Sag Valley trail system
  • Salt Creek trail system
  • Thorn Creek trail system
  • Tinley Creek trail system

Facilities by region

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; Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh Naure 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