The proposed course for a trail meant to connect Will County Forest Preserve District properties in rural Crete will require the removal of multiple oak trees that could be centuries old.
Keith Nowakowski, an advocate for the protection of native plants who lives near the property, said he was horrified when he saw which trees had been marked for removal.
“I was really appalled at what I was seeing, because it seemed like the trail was heading right for the biggest, most majestic oaks,” Nowakowski said. “And there aren’t that many oaks that you can’t avoid the biggest ones and still put in a trail.”
Nowakowski’s parents bought the property adjoining the woodland 46 years ago, he said, and he has spent decades exploring it.
“I measured several of them,” Nowakowski said. “An oak with a caliper of 25 inches across at breast height, which is roughly 5 feet off the ground, which is where you measure a tree, that could be a 200-year-old oak.”
The purpose of the planned trail is to connect existing Forest Preserve holdings and expand the trail network, Colleen Novander, director of planning and land preservation at Forest Preserve District, said in an email.
“Upon completion, the project will eliminate a gap in the existing trail system, resulting in a continuous greenway trail connection between Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve and the Plum Valley Preserve — Burville Road access,” Novander said.
The project plan also includes a bridge spanning Plum Creek.
The trail’s course has been designed to minimize the impact on the surroundings, Novander said, including wetlands, vegetation and sensitive habitats.
“While the trail alignment has been designed to avoid these features to the greatest extent practicable, limited tree removal will be required to accommodate construction and ensure the safe operation of the trail,” Novander said.
Nowakowski said he wasn’t opposed to the trail, and that he was in favor when he first heard about the plan, which has been in development for years. However, he said the planned course seemed unnecessarily destructive.
“It just seems very unnecessary and very heartbreaking,” Nowakowski said.
He would also like to see the Forest Preserve District dedicate more energy to the ecological restoration of the property, which he said has not been well-maintained and is plagued by invasive species such as Amur honeysuckle and multiflora rose.
“They’ve done no restoration on that property,” Nowakowski said. “If they were working on that, and then said oh, we’d like to make a trail, that would be nice. But they’re just putting in a trail and I’m not sure they’re going to do any restoration.”
Novander said the trail project will include restoration of areas disturbed by the project, including potentially replacing felled trees.
“To offset these impacts, ecological restoration of disturbed areas is included within the project scope and will be completed in accordance with guidance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources,” Novander said.
The Forest Preserve District had to file for an incidental take permit with the state because the planned trail crosses through a Kirtland’s snake habitat. Kirtland’s snake is listed as a threatened species in Illinois.
“They’re making the trail for the public, so the public can experience something that’s nice, but to me, what’s nice is what’s marked in green to be removed,” Nowakowski said, pointing at a trio of oaks marked for removal. “It’s like a cathedral.”
If the trees are felled, Nowakowski said, he plans to count the rings to determine their true ages, though he’d much prefer to see them spared.
“Unfortunately, at that point, they’ll be gone,” Nowakowski said.
Tree clearing is scheduled to begin this year, and construction on the trail is planned to be complete by the end of 2026, Forest Preserve public information officer Cindy Cain said.
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