Cap Sauers Preserve gets $225,000 for restoration work

Ongoing restoration work at Cap Sauers Holding Preserve got a big boost recently, thanks to a $225,000 grant from the Forest Preserve Foundation.

The money that’s funding the grant is a gift from a local resident who wishes to remain anonymous. The donor was inspired to make the gift after visiting Cap Sauers last summer and observing the coordinated work of Preserves staff and volunteers. According to the donor, the gift is also meant to inspire others to support the ecological health and beauty of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

“Our donor saw the progress being made by the volunteer stewards and Preserves staff working in the area and was compelled to contribute,” Forest Preserve Foundation President Shelley Davis said. “Private resources are critical to helping the Preserves restore Cap Sauers to top ecological health. We are so grateful to this donor for seeing the need and hope it inspires others to support restoration projects in the Preserves.”

The Forest Preserve Foundation is the philanthropic partner to the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

The grant supports restoration work on 120 acres in Cap Sauers, the largest piece within the Palos Preserves system and the largest dedicated nature preserve in Illinois. Cap Sauers includes oak woodlands, savannas, prairies and wetlands and harbors a wide variety of native plants and animals.

“Restoration efforts underway at Cap Sauers Preserve have already shown tremendous results and now with this grant funding that outstanding restoration work will continue,” Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison (Dist. 17) said.

The Preserves Resource Management Department will use the funds to remove invasive brush and reconnect other high-quality areas currently separated from one another by these brush barriers.

“The Forest Preserves of Cook County are always looking for new ways to improve our lands for nature and our residents,” Chip O’Leary, deputy director of resource management for the Preserves, said. “This donation will enable the Preserves to reconnect critical conservation areas, create new habitat, and make the forest preserve experience for the public more enjoyable. We hope to leverage this work to incentivize others to help us further expand these conservation and user benefits across the Preserves.”

At 1,520 acres, Cap Sauers Holding encompasses a broad swath of wooded bluffs and ravines, with 4.5 miles of hiking and biking trails. Spots within the expansive preserve hold the title for the farthest one can be from a road in Cook County. Hikers can wind their way into the preserve atop an esker—an ancient glacial riverbed—enjoying long views down into the woodlands below.

Ecological contractors with brush-mowing equipment are doing the work and teams will follow up to treat any re-sprouts. The Forest Preserves of Cook County will follow up with prescribed burns to speed up the recovery of the natural area. Volunteers also will assist in key locations after the initial mowing is done.