A Preservation Success Story: Lyman Woods Forest Preserve

"Lyman Woods is 150 acres of oak woods, prairie, and marsh habitats that supports over 300 species of native plants", according to the Downers Grove Park District. The fact that this parcel of land exists in a largely preserved state despite being surrounded on all sides by development is a small miracle, and is an incredible refuge for humans as well as local flora and fauna. It's an excellent place to go bird watching as well. (Map)

The DuPage County Forest Preserve, Village of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Park District jointly purchased Lyman Woods in 1987 through a tri-governmental agreement (NIU), which only happened as a result of village residents voicing their opinion that this property ought to be saved.

Walking over a marsh on the south end of the property.

An interesting aspect of this preserve is the presence of kames, glacially deposited hills of gravel, which were deposited during the glaciation period about 10,000 years ago. As glaciers largely flattened the land as they moved through the area (which is why most of Illinois is very flat), kames were areas where gravel became trapped as glaciers moved above them, creating small hills. 

Marshy forest is one part of the property.

The namesake of the woods, the Lyman family, purchased the property in 1839. The Lyman's and their ancestors were very interested in the continued preservation of the land, which they used for sheep and cattle grazing, and the land was entrusted to George Williams College, and later Midwestern University, who's campus is next door to the parcel, using the eastern part of the Lyman property for their Downers Grove campus.

A small 14,000 year old glacial pond at the southern end of Lyman Woods, part of the lowlands of the property.

In 1986, the land that is now Lyman Woods was put up for sale, and a community organization known as Friends of Lyman Woods was founded with the goal of preserving the property. The organization had support of residents of the village, but sadly not the government. According to Downers Grove Park District, "62% of residents felt that Downers Grove should participate in the preservation of Lyman Woods. However, the proposition was defeated at a Village Council meeting. Residents appealed to the Village Council members, who reconsidered and finally approved the joint purchase of 81.5 acres with the Downers Grove Park District and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County in a 3-2 vote", which created the aforementioned tri-governmental agreement between the three parties.

Remnants of the settler road, now trail, that leads to Highland Av on the preserve's west side.

That was not the end of the story however, as an additional parcel of land at 31st St and Highland Av was also slated for a development to be known as Town and Country homes, who wanted a mixed use office and residential land use for the property, matching the areas adjacent to Lyman Woods. Just twelve votes out of 14,000 separated the referendum's yes or no votes, and would preserve the area and cancel the Town and Country Development. 

Lyman Woods Forest Preserve in Downers Grove is a gorgeous walk, and really goes to show how if nature is given the slightest amount of space, it can still thrive, as development is on all sides of the Preserve. What was originally the site of an unnamed (to my knowledge) settlers road, the land was preserved by the Downers Grove Park District as it is the site of over 150 acres of prairie, forest and wetlands. It was only due to the strength of the citizens of Downers Grove that the area was preserved, as the city council voted not to preserve the woods, before citizen pressure led to the area being preserved by the Park District in 1987. #downersgrove #history #lyman #lymanwoods #nature #prairie #illinoiswetlands #illinois #wetland #forest #forestpreserve (frrandp on Instagram)

If a twelve vote margin is not enough to remind you of the importance of elections, and get you out to vote in your upcoming ones, I'm not sure what will. Thankfully, in this case, preservation won out, and this wonderful area which is among the last of the "groves" in Downers Grove will live on in perpetuity. That said, there are many, many examples where preservation will need to win out in the future, and numerous parcels across northern Illinois and indeed the world under threat from sprawl that will not bring us closer to nature.

Thanks as always for reading!