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"Protecting Black Crown Marsh will not only safeguard water quality
and protect habitats for rare, threatened and endangered species,
but will expand trails and provide people in northeast Illinois more
opportunities to hunt," Blagojevich said. "Preserving the natural
beauty of this area and protecting wildlife habitat is part of our
commitment to pass on the natural heritage of Illinois to future
generations." The Department of Natural Resources acquired the
113-acre parcel -- part of the former Oakmount Game Club -- to
expand protection for Black Crown Marsh, a 236-acre wetland habitat
located just east of Moraine Hills State Park. The acquisition
expands adjoining state- and locally managed open space in the area
to more than 3,000 acres.
"This historic effort to protect the Black Crown Marsh has been a
decade in the making and is a perfect example of agencies working
together to preserve natural areas in Illinois," said Leslie Sgro,
deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources. "This
acquisition -- and the complementary efforts of our conservation
partners in the region -- is a significant accomplishment in natural
resources stewardship in the area."
The former Oakmount Game Club included approximately 247 acres of
open space located in both McHenry County and Lake County. The sale
of the property was facilitated by the Corporation for Open Lands,
which purchased the entire parcel earlier this year on behalf of the
Department of Natural Resources and the Lake County Forest Preserve
District. The forest preserve board approved the purchase of 134
acres of the former game club last July, and the district is
managing that parcel as the new Black Crown Forest Preserve.
"We are excited to be a part of something that has such
long-lasting benefits for wildlife and people," said Bonnie Thomson
Carter, president of the Lake County Forest Preserves. "It has
always been our hope to preserve this land and provide further
protection to Black Crown Marsh. Purchasing the new Black Crown
Forest Preserve has allowed us to play an important role in regional
preservation of our natural areas and to expand public open space in
western Lake County."
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 "We commend IDNR and the Lake County Forest Preserve District for
their leadership in working with CorLands to preserve Black Crown
Marsh," said Robert Megquier, director of land preservation for the
Corporation for Open Lands. "The people in our region are fortunate
to have this unique habitat. CorLands is pleased to have had a role
in the acquisition and protection of such an important natural
area."
The state's Black Crown Marsh area will now consist of nearly 350
acres of wetland and upland buffer habitat. The marsh wetland
includes a central area of open water. Nine state-listed threatened
or endangered bird species have been found at and rely on the
habitat at Black Crown Marsh: the black tern, common moorhen,
American bittern, least bittern, pied-billed grebe, sandhill crane,
black-crown night heron, osprey and yellow-headed blackbird.
A 156-acre area of Black Crown Marsh was registered as a state
land and water reserve by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
in 2001. An archery deer hunting program on the site provides
sportsmen an opportunity to help manage the large deer population in
the area.
State acquisition of the former Oakmount parcel will also provide
a new link in the 500-mile Grand Illinois Trail system in northern
Illinois. The Department of Natural Resources recently negotiated an
intergovernmental agreement with the village of Island Lake to
complete a segment of the trail through a neighboring residential
area. The new trail connection will link Moraine Hills State Park
and the Lake County trail system.
The 113-acre parcel was acquired at a negotiated fair market
value of $5,087,221 with a blend of state, federal and private
funding. The funds include $4,268,194 from the state Natural Areas
Acquisition Fund, $724,554 from the federal Land and Water
Conservation program, and a private donation through the Illinois
Conservation Foundation totaling $94,473.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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