In a pending transaction, the 77-acre Openlands Lakeshore Preserve, which features wooded ravines, bluffs and a mile of shoreline, will be transferred at no cost to the forest preserve district.Openlands also will transfer about $1.3 million to the Preservation Foundation, the district's charitable partner, to care for the property in perpetuity.
"We are thrilled to add this additional parcel, which will result in nearly two miles of contiguous, publicly accessible shoreline at Fort Sheridan," Kovach said in announcing the pending deal. It is home to at least six threatened and endangered plant species, and it's a twice-a-year stop for thousands of migrating birds, as well as monarchs and dragonflies, according to Openlands.
"We don't anticipate anything we don't already know," said Rebekah Snyder, director of community engagement and partnerships for the foundation.