Land Acquisition and Planning: Kishwaukee River Meander

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Land Acquisition and Planning: Kishwaukee River Meander

Accomplishments

Openlands collaborated with the Boone County Conservation District and other organizations to develop A Vision of the Kishwaukee River Water Trail, which details the location of a water trail system originating in McHenry County and continuing to the confluence of the Kishwaukee and Rock rivers.

These riparian areas provide many important natural functions, such as storing floodwater, improving water quality by filtering out nutrient-rich sediments, and providing habitat for a biologically rich ecology.

Openlands Land Preservation acquired a forty-acre parcel located halfway between Belvidere, Illinois, and the Village of Garden Prairie. The acquisition of this site secures a strategic, public access point and further implements of the vision plan. Dan Kane, executive director of the conservation district, notes that “An informal afternoon botanic inventory identified eight species of native plants, including Blue Flag, Purple Meadow Rue, Swamp Milkweed, and Meadow Anemone.”