2030 Land Use Plan Vote Tuesday

Tuesday night at 7pm, the McHenry County Board will meet to vote on the proposed 2030 Land Use Plan that has been 3 years in the making.

In the last few days, several people have asked me my opinion on the plan. Let me sum it up this way:

I think the plan should show all undeveloped and unincorporated areas west of Route 47 as farmland or environmental resources. I have several reasons for favoring this approach:

1. It puts the County clearly in the position of supporting farmland and groundwater protection - resources that will benefit all county residents.

2. It sends a message to municipalities that the County is going to stop approving developments in the unincorporated areas of the County - this type of development is more expensive to all county residents (more expensive for the schools, more expensive for emergency responders, more expensive to maintain the extra roads, etc etc).

3. It puts the County in the best possible position to start working collaboratively with municipalities on Intergovernmental matters such as groundwater protection, fuding for road maintenance, and even future growth boundaries to ensure the land and water resources available are used in a sustainable way that benefits all residents -- today and in the future.

I believe recent news articles support this approach:

• Agritourism grows in County (without farmland, we have no agritourism, and it is big business!)


• Fire Destroys home in unincorporated area north of Crystal Lake (because the home was in an unincorporated area without fire hydrants, tankers full of water had to be brought in by departments from McHenry and Lake county communities to fight the fire)


• Industrial Solvent present in local water supplies (article is archived since it's from December 2009) - notices were sent out to residents in Crystal Lake and Fox River Grove letting them know that levels of Trichloroethylene (TCE) in the local water supplies are at half the legal limit.

Think about it, as currently drafted, the plan purports to encourage future development to occur in or adjacent to existing municipalities -- a style of development known as "compact and contiguous." Yet, the plan shows vast areas of unincorporated land as being developed for commercial, industrial or residential uses in the future, BUT it has NO requirement that the development occur only through municipal annexation.

What this means is that a developer can use the plan to gain approval of a project that is NOT compact or contiguous, but is consistent with the plan map. And there isn't much the county board can do to stop them if the project is consistent with the map.

Take a look at the map, especially the area by Marengo and Union. The purple areas are proposed Commercial/Office/Research/Industrial areas and the yellow parts are planned for rural residential development. Thousands of acres of each use on land that is currently farmed. Thousands of acres underlain with groundwater that is highly vulnerable to pollution.

I repeat: I think the plan should show all undeveloped and unincorporated areas west of Route 47 as farmland or environmental resources. Someone suggested to me that this would be the absence of a plan, but I strongly disagree with that notion.

To plan for farmland and enviornmental resources in the unincorporated areas does nothing to stop municipalities from annexing land for development.

The best way to make it clear that the County is serious about wanting future development to occur in municipalities, to protect precious groundwater resources and to ensure there is a thriving agricultural industry in the county in the future, is to have a County Land Use Plan (aka a plan for future development in unincorporated areas) that reflects what the County Board would actually approve in the unincorporated areas.

The next question is "What can we do?" The short answer is to call your county board members and tell them what you think before they vote Tuesday night.

County 2030 Land Use Plan Meetings

Public Meetings on the McHenry County 2030 Land Use Plan are scheduled for the first week of March: March 1, McHenry; March 2, Harvard; March 3, Crystal Lake; March 4, Marengo; March 6, Woodstock. Details can be found here. The weekday meetings will take place from 5-7pm and the Saturday meeting from 9am-noon.

Taking the time to view the maps and read at least some of the plan is important for residents, especially those who live in the north and west portions of the county that are predominantly farmland.

This is the document that will/should guide future land use changes in the rural areas of the county. The words are important, but let's face it, most people just look at the pictures anyway, so the map is really important.

I can sum up my comments in three words: Change the map.

The text is pretty good - actually quite strong in some areas - but the current map doesn't match the text. [Caution: do not try opening the plan document unless you have a high speed internet connection - it is 89 MegaBytes in size. Copies are available at local libraries.]

One of the big disconnects between the text and the map is in the area of projected population growth and the amount of land needed to accommodate all the new people and jobs that may be needed over the next 20 years.

The map was drafted using a very high future population number, but the text includes a smaller number that is more realistic. The map, therefore, shows a lot more rural residential development in the future than is realistic given the number of new people that are realistically projected to want to move here.

The result it that there are thousands of acres planned for rural residential development that are far outside any municipal boundaries. This directly contradicts one of the plan's primary goals, which is to promote compact & contiguous growth in and around municipalities where essential services are already available, rather than continuing to allow scattered development throughout the rural areas.

Fortunately, the County Planning staff already did a really excellent analysis of the possible changes to the map's sprawling residential development (as recommended by the Planning Commission). The map that staff prepared recommends removing various areas that were initially planned for rural residential development, and showing them as agriculture.

I found the planning staff's memo describing possible map changes to bring the plan's maps into line with the text very helpful in thinking about comments to make at the public meetings. Since this is information that has been provided to the County Board members who will ultimately decide what changes to make, I think using it as a reference is helpful.

There are other issues as well.

For instance, vast areas of farmland far outside of municipalities are planned for industrial development, far in excess of what could be needed to support job creation for future residents. Also, industrial development is planned for areas that are highly sensitive groundwater recharge soils, particularly in the area around Marengo and the Kishwaukee River. These mapped industrial uses are in conflict with the text which supports protection of groundwater resources and compact & contiguous growth patterns.

So, please attend one of the meetings near you and say something, even if it is that you support the map changes proposed by the staff. But it is important to say something, and to say it now, because in a couple of weeks it will be too late. Thank you.

Seed Shraring Success!

Halloween 2009 included a trick or treat of sorts for adults this year - seed sharing in Alden Township!

The table full of bags is an adult version of candy bowls - each bag containing seed from a different plant species, and all organized by habitat type. Instead of choosing between Snickers, Kit Kats, or Starburst, the seed sharers were grabbing handfuls of Monarda fistulosa, Zizia aurea and Rudbeckia triloba. I wish I had a good photo of one of the adults with a look of glee on her face while finding that species that she had been looking to add to her restoration!

Thanks to Orrin & Patricia Bangert for opening their garage to the seed sharers as a base of operations, and thanks to the Bangerts, Randy & Karen Stowe, Rich & Renee Dankert, Colleen & Lou Moeller and Kay & Dick Pfundt for opening their properties to the thirty or so seed sharers who came out Halloween morning to collect native seed from these mature restorations to either enhance or expand their own restoration projects.

This is the third year that TLC and the WPPC have teamed up with the Alden Township seed group to share their natural abundance with restorationists across McHenry County. Seed Sharing was initially the idea of George Johnson, former Alden Township resident who had a big influence on the spread of prairie and wetland restoration in the township.

The photo at right shows George (on the left) talking with Lou Moeller (on the right with a cup of coffee). Lou & his wife Colleen purchased the Johnson's house when George and his wife Marilyn moved to Madison Wisconsin a couple of years ago.

One of the most exciting things about Seed Sharing is seeing the restoration bug pass not just to new landowners each year, but to a new generation of landowners!

Life without the Internet

It was a long three weeks in some ways.

TLC moved our office about 500 feet on July 25th from a pole building at the back of a plant nursery to a 100 year old farmhouse at the new Hennen Conservation Area to serve as care-takers of this City of Woodstock park. We'll open and close the gate every day, monitor the trails, pick up trash, and provide a presence to help ensure vandalism does not become a problem.

And the 500 foot move meant we were about 300 feet out of the DSL service area for our former Internet provider. Thus began our three week journey to find an alternative to DSL...

In the meantime, being disconnected from the world of Internet and e-mail meant that we had plenty of time to organize all of the records that were moved from the old office, and ample time to work on organizing the Hennen Conservation Area for a public opening later this month. (August 30th from 2-3:30pm!!)

Thank you to the crew of summer interns who worked through heat and rain to put in a trail system (over 2 miles) and to begin removing invasive species that were crowding the handful of giant oaks they discovered while exploring the property (like the 52 inch diameter one pictured above).

Our new location at Hennen will give TLC lots of opportunities to actually run programs to help connect people with the great outdoors and with the work that TLC does to preserve and care for the land. For example, we'll work with City staff to plan "back to nature" programs to help connect Woodstock residents with the great outdoors -- a special opportunity presented by this site.

Hennen Conservation Area is a 25 acre parcel that was donated to the City by Phyllis & Tony Hennen - long time residents who retired to Minnesota three years ago. The Hennen's were known to many in the community through their daughters Tonya and Tara, and through their involvement in the "Stop the Stacks" battle against a proposed peaker plant in their back yard.

So, I guess the bottom line for me is that three weeks without the Internet was a very small price to pay for the priviledge of getting to work here every day -- actually the three weeks was a gift. Just like the Hennen Conservation Area will be a precious gift for area residents forever!

Update from Yonder Prairie

Thanks to site steward Scott Kuykendall for sending along a couple of photos from Sunday's Work Party at Yonder Prairie.

To the left is a Sandhill crane that he noticed at the site while he was taking photos as a baseline to help document the changes that we are going to see over the coming years. He noticed something move, looked up from the camera, and there he was - a male sandhill, probably looking for a mate!

Scott also saw a lot of marsh marigold blooming. These plants are such a happy member of our local wet natural areas. They come and go before most other wetland plants reveal their identities. They are a sure sign that there are more intersting species to be found at the site!

In addition to the singing of chorus frogs, Scott also heard the "descending whinny" of the Sora - a bird also known as the Sora Crake or the Sora Rail. This is a hard bird to spot, but I found a picture on the Net to give folks an idea of what they look like. These birds are found in wet areas, and research indicates that they prefer natural wetlands to restored (recreated) habitat. We'll be sure to keep an eye (and ear) out for them at Yonder to see if they are breeding there!

Burn Baby, Burn!

Ecological Fire Management of natural areas is so cool.

Take a natural area - prairie, wetland or woodland - and every year or two light it on fire. The fire knocks back invasive plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard, giving the deep rooted natives a fighting chance!

The picture makes fire look a little scary, with flames roaring higher than a person, but the truth is that when doing this, TLC is very careful. It is said that a really good ecological burn is slow and boring, and we strive to make sure our burns are the slowest and most boring!

First we make sure there are fire breaks surrounding the area we want to burn - this can be done by raking or mowing vegetation to get rid of stuff that will burn easily. The fire breaks provide a safe place for the crew to move in, and help ensure that the fire will stop at the edges of the site.

Then, starting at the portion of the fire break that is located such that the wind is blowing into our faces, we light a backfire -- this means lighting a fire a foot or so away from the fire break, and letting the wind push the fire to the fire break, resulting in a burned line that effectively expands the fire break. Because we are working against the wind at this point, we don't have to worry about the fire taking off across the site.

Once a really good blackline is burned in, we light the head fire. This is where the wind is at our backs, and the fire roars quickly across the site, dying out when it runs out of fuel at the blackline! Here is a picture of a head fire - you can see the flames leaving a charred landscape in their wake!

All through the burn, we make sure that crew members are positioned at strategic locations to catch any fire that starts up where it isn't supposed to be! Crew members are armed with flappers to smother the fire, rakes to get rid of fuel (grass and leaves), and waterpacks to extinguish the fire if needed.

Historically, fire roared across the landscape regularly, either started by lightning or lit by native people who used it to drive game. The plants that thrived in this landscape are therefore well adapted to fire -- the bur oaks have a thick, corky bark that withstands fire, and the native grasses and flowers have exceptionally deep roots that mean the plants will grow back!

The 2009 Spring burn season is drawing to a close now -- birds are starting to build nests, and grasses are starting to green up. We'd rather not burn down someone's house, not even a sparrow's!

What's in a name?

I have a problem with a lot of the names of natural areas and parks. They just don't do anything to inspire me.

For example, Lions Park or Bailey Woods (named after the group or individual who donated the land) are pretty plain-sounding.

Some use words that sound Native American or French (or both) like Meredosia or Chautauqua or Emiquon (all Wildlife Refuges in Central Illinois), which harken back to an earlier era, but start to sound alike over time.

Some parks are named after an animal, plant or natural community that is found there, like Boloria Meadows in Bull Valley (named after a species of butterfly), which seems to take the risk of sounding like a subdivision (Turtle Crossing in Harvard comes to mind -- it's a subdivision, not a park where turtles cross...)

Other sites are named for the geographic location, as is TLC's Crowley Sedge Meadow which is located on Crowley Road near Harvard and TLC's Powers Creek Conservation Area (which could easily become the name of a subdivision by substituting "Estates" for "Conservation Area"...)

So, why am I rambling on about this whole issue of naming natural areas or parks? Well, just this week, TLC acquired the nicest remaining wet prairie in all of McHenry County, and now we need to come up with a name.

The site is currently known as "West Woodstock Prairie" (since it is on the west side of the City of Woodstock, and is a prairie). Yawn.

The property was originally bought for $50 in 1843 by a man named Peter O'Brien, so maybe "O'Brien's Meadow" is an option.

The property is located in the headwaters of Franklinville Creek, so how about "Franklinville Headwaters Preserve"? It is mostly a wet prairie, so maybe Franklinville Prairie Preserve?

The land sits at the base of a steep bluff, so maybe something like "West Woodstock Bottoms" would be appropriate? Or "Franklinville Bottoms"?

You see the challenge! Now, if someone came along and made a donation to cover the costs of buying the site, we could just name it after him or her: TLC's Jane Smith Praire Preserve!

Just a thought.