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A woman rides a bike
Forest Preserve Board approves balanced 2025 budget; property tax rate will decrease 27%
11/15/2024The Forest Preserve's Board of Commissioners approved a balanced 2025 budget on Nov. 14. The spending plan includes a 27% drop in the property tax rate and funding for operations, maintenance, land acquisition and preserve improvement projects.
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Two men conducting a prescribed burn
Prescribed burn map: Here's where we're burning today
11/12/2024This map is updated daily as another way to notify the public when a prescribed burn is being conducted.
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Valuables on a center console in a car
Prevent vehicle burglaries by following these tips
11/8/2024Forest Preserve police are reminding visitors to lock their vehicles and to leave valuables at home as they plan their nature outings.
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A woman stands on a bridge.
Healing With Nature: Easing life’s transitions with the calmness of forest bathing
10/21/2024Barbara Collins, a Bolingbrook retiree, turned to nature and her history with plants to find a new purpose in life.
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A rusty-patched bumble bee, with its white and yellow bands flies into a purple colored wild bergamot flower.
Forest Preserve staff discover endangered species not seen in the preserves since 1983
9/23/2024Ecologist Barbara Sherwood said she almost cried when she spied a Bombus affinis, the federally endangered rusty-patched bumblebee, in a Des Plaines River Valley preserve this summer.
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A view of kayak rental lockers next to a lake.
Lake Chaminwood debuts new kayak rental station
8/29/2024A new kayak rental station is available for public use at Lake Chaminwood Preserve in Channahon. Patrons can download the Rent.Fun app to pay for the kayaks, which include paddles and life vests. The cost is $25 for the first two hours and $15 for each additional hour.
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A yellow sign indicating where bikes are prohibited.
Illegal trails are ‘wounds slicing across the ecosystem’
8/23/2024The Forest Preserve District has launched a campaign to get people to stop using or creating unauthorized trails in the preserves. The illegal paths harm the ecosystem and can cause safety issues. Signs have been installed to keep people out of sensitive natural areas.
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A pedestrian bridge over canal connects two trails.
Lake Chaminwood project is complete, trail extension now open
8/20/2024Barricades were removed Tuesday, Aug. 20, signaling the end of construction work at Lake Chaminwood Preserve in Channahon. The project included two new accessible fishing piers and the extension of the lake's loop trail to the I&M Canal State Trail via a new bridge over the canal.
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Various nature-themed backpacks arranged in a display, each open to reveal its contents.
Nature backpacks lead to exploration at Isle a la Cache
7/25/2024Isle a la Cache Museum has four new colorful backpacks chock full of activities and helpful nature information that will guide outdoor exploration. The Bugs, Birds, By the River and Tree backpacks are free to use during museum hours on a first-come, first-served basis.
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"Two beekeepers, a man and a woman, standing in front of their beehives.
Couple’s honey-producing passion was meant to bee
7/22/2024Honey being sold at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook comes from bees that sip a wide variety of nectar to produce many different varieties of the sweet stuff. The Bee All About It honey ranges from buckwheat to wildflowers.
Events
WonderKids: Less Is More!
Bring your little ones to Isle a la Cache Museum for WonderKids.
Lunch and Learn: Planting Natives in the Spring (Zoom webinar)
It’s almost time for spring planting, so spend the lunch hour learning which plants are best to plant in the spring for a summer full of color and life.
The Buzz
Avoid the heartbreak: Check your yard for rabbit nests before mowing
Before you cut your grass, it's a good idea to give your yard a once-over to look for rabbit nests. These nests often look just like a small patch of dead grass, but the babies are just under the surface, leaving them vulnerable to lawnmowers.