Flower Shops Des Plaines IL

Des Plaines IL Press

Public land restoration begins at Deer Grove West in Palatine

O'Hare International Airport. "The runways impacted the wetlands and killed them at O'Hare. The wetlands are in Des Plaines River watershed," Masters said. According to Openlands, the cost to restore Grove West was $3.15 million, paid for by the city of Chicago, which owns O'Hare. In explaining the five-year effort to reinvigorate Grove West, Masters said three contractors will clear away invasive species, often buckthorn and honeysuckle. "The trees basswood, elms and maples are invasive, too, but they will just be thinned," Masters said. Come spring, project leaders will monitor the cleared land, she said, which contain wetlands drained by human activity. "We'll be looking at the hydrology of the wetlands. We want to restore them and keep water on site," Masters said. "We want to create good habitats for frogs, salamanders, birds and bats. It's all dense woodlands and wetlands there now." Over the next five years, she explained, flowers, grasses and sedges will be monitored for how they responded to more sunlight. Her organization will consult with the federal Fish and Wildlife Service on endangered or threatened wildlife and plants that they find. Ron Vargason has been with Deer Grove Natural Areas Volunteers for 20 years. "Deer Grove is such a natural treasure with multiple ecosystems like wetlands, woods, prairies and rare plant species," he said. Troy Showerman, a resource project manager for Forest Preserve District of Cook County, said the long-range goal was to restore 30,000 acres forest preserve within 25 years. The Prairie Research Institute studied 15 properties and arranged them in restoration priorities, he said. Of the 15, he said Deer Grove West was fourth in importance to improve ecologically. In 2014, the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board adopted a five-year strategy — called the Next Century Conservation Plan — to improve the preserves. The three-point plan was focused on bringing 30,000 acres to ecological health, expanding the county's forest preserves from 69,000 to 90,000 acres, and making all that land accessible to Cook County residents. tshields@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @tshields19 ... http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/buffalo-grove/news/ct-bcr-deer-grove-restoration-tl-0114-20160112-story.html