Pat Hayes, a longtime volunteer with the Orland Grassland, has toiled for years to return the 960-acre preserve to its historic and natural glory.
So it makes sense that the Orland Park resident and her crew of volunteers are protective of the preserve and the wildlife that inhabits it.
As a result, a four-mile bike path planned for the perimeter of the preserve has the volunteers in a bit of a quandary.
“We want people to have the opportunity to experience what’s out there,” Hayes said. “The downside is people have to stay on the path. If people go off the trail it’s devastating to us.”
She worries the most about cyclists damaging the flora and terrorizing or killing the fauna as they ride through, instead of around, the grassland.
The preserve owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve District is a breeding ground for grassland birds whose numbers are declining. The birds nest on the ground.
“If we could find signage to let people know wheels don’t belong out there that would be good,” Hayes said.
The Cook County Board recently approved hiring a consultant, Chicago-based Baxter and Woodman, for $366,935 to work on a handful of bike trails including the trail at the grassland, said Dave Kircher, chief landscape architect for the district.
The grassland trail is expected to cost about $1 million, but the funding is not available for the asphalt trail that would be about 10 feet wide, Kircher said.
“This one will slide down in terms of priority because there are no funds,” he said.
Once the trail is completed, it will serve a recreational use, and Orland Park officials hope it will be a part of the village’s main trail system that will stretch across the village and connect to the Tinley Creek Preserve and Trail System. The village’s 10-mile trail system remains under construction.
“It’ll be really popular based on other trails of a similar length,” Kircher said.
Kircher said he understands the volunteers’ concern. But he thinks the trail will be a benefit.
“People tend to stick to a paved trail,” he said. “There’s been a lot of work put into that site. We don’t want to see that compromised.”
Bob Sullivan, Orland Park’s community development director, agreed. People feel invested in a beautiful place, he said.
“Right now the volunteers are the main eyes and ears. If you introduce a trail to an area you can have people coming through all the time, which helps prevent illicit activity on the property,” he said.
In the meantime, Hayes said, the volunteers plan to work closely with the forest preserve district on the trail plans.
“It’s so good for the community to be able to enjoy it,” she said.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services