Deer Grove Forest Preserve Forest Preserves of Cook County - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Deer Grove Forest Preserve

Forest Preserves of Cook County Established in 1915 We are the nation’s largest urban conservation district with over 69,000 acres of land holdings, and we are one of the oldest. The Forest Preserves make up about 11% of the land mass of Cook County, serving a population of over 5.2 million Tinley Creek Ravines Landscape people.

TINLEY CREEK RAVINES PROJECT GOALS: 1. 1. Use water main impact fees to restore degraded woodland and grassland habitats. 2. 2. Address c certain erosion impacts a and stabilize ravine slopes. 3. 3. Gather feedback on use of unofficial trails at Tinley Creek Ravines to better understand public a access while supporting restoration work.

ILLEGAL SITE USES: • Mountain biking • Graffiti • Parties Poaching • • Encroachments

FUNDING SOURCES: • Impact fees for a water main for the Village of Oak Lawn and other surrounding communities FPCC staff time •

TINLEY CREEK RAVINES Preserve boundaries and new water main to be located within utility right-of-way.

PROJECT GOALS: 1. 1. Use water main impact fees to restore degraded woodland and grassland habitats to higher quality ecosystems as shown here.

HISTORIC 1938 AERIAL IMAGE Old aerial photography helps convey how the Tinley Creek Ravines site was previously used, as well as historic environmental conditions. Woodland and prairie ecosystems would have dominated this landscape.

EXISTING VEGETATION There are many more tree stems now than historically, thus some tree thinning will help increase light that can reach ground vegetation that is crucial to help stabilize soils and support healthy habitats .

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY HEALTHY HABITATS

HEALTHY WOODLAND Includes lots of light reaching the ground and long views through open understory.

DEGRADED WOODLAND AT TINLEY CREEK RAVINES

DEGRADED WOODLAND AT TINLEY CREEK RAVINES Too many tree stems create too much shade, which causes ground vegetation to disappear. This leads to increased storm water runoff. Storm water runoff flows from upslope areas and collects down gradient, moving soil with it and causing damaging erosion and down cutting.

HEALTHY GRASSLAND Treeless plant communities dominated by herbaceous plants. This was the primary ecosystem in Illinois . The FPCC is actively expanding this type of habitat in its preserves to help with species preservation .

DEGRADED GRASSLAND Most modern ‘grasslands’ are degraded pastures that have lots of woody encroachment. Loss of this vast historic habitat has resulted in massive declines in grassland dependent species throughout the nation.

DEGRADED GRASSLAND Trees and shrubs historically were only a very small percentage of this ecosystem. Prescribed burning must be re- introduced to these landscapes to preserve grassland character. Many invasive species can dominate grasslands without regular scouting and spot herbicide treatments

WHAT TECHNIQUES ARE USED TO ACCOMPLISH RESTORATION WORK?

TREE AND SHRUB MECHANICAL CLEARING

TREE AND SHRUB HAND CLEARING

BURN PILES

HAUL PILES

OVERSEEDING

PLANNED TINLEY CREEK RAVINES RESTORATION SCHEDULE OCT NOV FEB MAR APR JUN JUL AUG SEP DEC JAN MAY 2019 SI T E C LEA RING H Y D RO LOGY REPA I RS ERO SI O N C O NT RO L SI T E C LEA RING H Y D RO LOG Y 2020 REP A I RS ERO SI O N C O NT RO L I NVA SIVE SP EC IES C O NT RO L I NVA SIVE SP EC IES 2021 C O NT RO L SEED I NG P RESC RI BED F I RE I NVA SIVE SP EC IES 2022 C O NT RO L SEED I NG P RESC RI BED F I RE

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP Prescribed burning

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP Herbicide walks

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP Field mowing or hand cutting

PROJECT GOALS: 2. 2. Address ess certain tain erosion sion impa pacts cts and stabili bilize e ravi vine e slopes. pes.

TOPOGRAPHY Topographic maps help us see the range of elevation on a site. Steep topography represented by tight grade lines is more susceptible to erosion.

UNRECOGNIZED TRAILS VS. OFFICIAL TRAILS Unrecognized trails can lead to lots of unintended erosion.

HYDROLOGY ISSUES Extreme erosion areas highlighted; many smaller erosion problems exist throughout the preserve.

EROSION REPAIRS Regrading and stabilization blankets and other erosion control devices will be used in select areas to improve upon existing conditions.

PROJECT GOALS: 3. 3. Gathe her r feedback dback on use of unoffi ficial cial trail ils s at Tinley ley Creek ek Ravi vines es to better ter understan rstand publ blic ic access ss and use. e.

NEARBY TRAILS & AMENITIES Consider using other nearby official trails to minimize damage to Tinley Creek Ravines Preserve.

NEARBY TRAILS & AMENITIES Amenities provided within a 10-mi radius of the Tinley Creek Ravines site. Dashed yellow trails are off-road mountain bike trails.

PAVED TRAILS Authorized use of official trails.

MOUNTAIN BIKING VIDEO Unauthorized use of unrecognized trails. Significant ecological damage can be done on a single ride.

HOW TO HELP SUPPORT RESTORATION EFFORTS Bikes not allowed on unrecognized trails to help minimize damage to and resulting erosion of steep slopes. Refrain from and discourage graffiti and illegal parties in Forest Preserves. Never poach plants or animals from the Forest Preserves. Resolve encroachments by relocating off Forest Preserve property.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: TRAIL WATCH PROGRAM At its core, the trail watch program is a group of volunteers that patrol the preserve and act as extra eyes and ears for the Forest Preserve police, reporting suspicious activity with a phone call. Current volunteers enjoy both the interactions they get to have with Forest Preserve users and the public safety service they provide. For more information: https://fpdcc.com/volunteer/trail-watch/

For more information, or to share your thoughts on the project please email: TCRproject@cookcountyil.gov Check out the project website at: fpdcc.com/tinley-ravines Deer Grove Forest Preserve