The District has been actively engaged in research and monitoring programs that were set up to help combat EAB through a coordinated strategy with regional, state, and federal agencies.  The District is in the beginning stages of addressing the infestation and anticipates the process of tree removal and replanting will continue over the next several years.

Infested Ash trees will eventually die due to EAB. The District's objective now is to responsibly remove infected Ash trees that are dead or will die in the near future, and could pose a risk to the general public and the users of the Preserve.

The current number of trees being removed is 8,962, of which 7,724 are Ash trees infested with EAB.  Tree removal under the current contracts will likely continue through January 2012.  Below is a list of current planned tree removals near the 14th District:

* Skokie Division - North of Golf Road to Lake Cook Road, excluding the Botanic Garden (northern part of Region 4): 1,315 total trees, 1,078 Ash

* Des Plaines Division - Devon Avenue - north to Lake Cook Road (northern part of Region 3): 1,135 total trees, 1,013 Ash

* North Branch Division - south of Golf Road to Foster Avenue (southern part of Region 4): 1,876 total trees, 1,787 Ash

For a complete list of tree removals and more information about the District's EAB strategy and its development, please visit the FPD website.  

The Forest Preserve District is seeking public input on the 2012 updates to the draft Capital Improvement Plan for 2012-2016.   This outreach is intended as an opportunity to gather ideas and input from constituents for the Capital Improvement Plan, which will be submitted to the FPD Board for approval. 

You can view a draft list of proposed projects and submit a comment form on the Forest Preserve District website. 

Additionally, as chairman of the FPD Finance Committee, Commissioner Goslin will be holding hearings on the FY2012 Forest Preserve Budget later this fall.  The FPD Budget is expected to be released on October 27th. 

If you live near or visit the Spring Creek Forest Preserves, you may have noticed some work being done in the area over the past few months.  The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Forest Preserve District are doing a hydrology study as part of a restoration project at Spring Creek Valley.  The study involves temporarily disabling agricultural drainage tiles to see the effect on the area where historic wetland habitats were once located.

The project manager from the Corps sent us an explanation of the work being done: 

The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County are preparing for the implementation of a Section 206 Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration project at Spring Creek Valley. The project is currently in its feasibility phase and the USACE has recently initiated a hydrological study which involves temporarily disabling agricultural drain tiles within Spring Creek Valley, which may cause areas to become wetter where historic wetland habitats once flourished.  

The process of temporarily disabling drain tiles will take up to 4 weeks and wetter than normal conditions are expected to persist through the end of Autumn in order for the USACE to complete a hydrology study of the site as well as plan for the repair or relocation of any trails impacted by restored conditions.