Fair warning: do not proceed unless you have an interest in Lyman Woods. There’s a bunch of pictures involved here.
As a bonus for those who despair of another long and boring post, at the very end I included a picture of a bunch of really hot naked chicks.
I have couple years of history now with the Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance. One year ago I wrote up an article about damage done to the oak savanna on the north side of Lyman Woods during work to restore the stream there. Some of it could have been avoided but mostly it was unintended or unthinking. More than a few people were upset about it, and that’s how I found myself with fellow PDHA board members Chris Sarick and Dave Schultz moderating/refereeing a meeting that included us along with representatives of the Downers Grove Park District, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District, ERA Consultants (project managers), and some concerned and upset residents. some of whom had worked very hard for years to bring Lyman Woods into existence. The Village still has a financial stake in Lyman Woods but has remained a silent partner.
Our concerns were the damage done while doing work to reestablish and stabilize stream beds. We had secured agreements to update policy for project oversight, and promises to do better moving forward, and to do a fall burn to rid the area of several stands of garlic mustard, a particularly invasive and useless plant that provides neither garlic nor mustard.
The Lyman Woods pics are all from my cell phone camera.
This was indicative of the trail damage done last year by the mini cats used to transport heavy materials.
Last year: pretty chewed up.
This year.
This part of the trail is healing up pretty well. Some of the small damaged trees died. The track has begun reverting back to a much smaller width, and there was some growth in the mud:
This little guy is right in the middle of the trail. It looks like a white trillium (?, I’m no botanist), native to the area. Notice that where there was once only mud, there are now some plants, but not many.
Some smaller trees received severe wounds.
Last year: careless driving damage.
This year: with over half it's vascular "throat" cut, this tree manages to survive.
The materials staging areas have done better.
Lasy year: this was one staging area that was pretty trashed. They actually found remains of a silo that was well over 130 years old here, and dug out the remaining building material, contributing to the damage in the area.
This year: looking much better.
The stream run off had been very fast and contained a lot of silt, which caused problems downstream. There’s a parking lot near the top of the hill that may increase the run-off. During rain events, significant erosion was occurring.
Last year: looks kind of like a Disney World version of a forest stream.
This year: the planned-for silt buildup is happening, eliminating erosion problem.
Last year: a freshly re-engineered stream bank.
This year: looking good.
The above two pictures are looking north as the stream flattens out after coming downhill. The next two look the other way, south towards the open water.
Last year: nature is never this tidy.
This year.
Another staging area, this one immediately east of the stream:
Last year: pretty trashed.
This year: a big comeback. The trees are showing spring growth despite the damage taken last year.
Don't know what this is flower is, but it's growing where there was just compacted mud last year.
Overall, the savanna seems to be doing okay. It took more damage than it should have, especially considering it was restoration work being done, but by next year it should be barely visible unless you know what to look for.
Controlled burn area.
Last fall the Park District delayed a planned burn to get rid of several patches of garlic mustard. It appears they have gone ahead and burned out at least 6 patches that I noticed. Burning is a bit tricky, and has all kinds of rules and regulations, but it’s very effective at totally killing off mustard garlic. Prairie plants have evolved to take advantage of periodic burning (from say, lightening striking and starting a prairie fire), and quickly move in to reestablish on the scorched earth.
Some residents that had expressed concern and dismay at the damage will always see it. Kind of like a parent that always knows about the scar on the top of your head from when you fell in the tub as a little kid.
I took the pictures last year on May 14th, and this year on May 9th, so they are all at the same time of year.
And now, as promised, hot naked chicks…
Lyman woods is a natural treasure within the Village.
Thanks Mark. These comparative images are terrific. They show both how Lyman Woods has healed and how difficult it is for a natural are to recover from an injury. Of course, it should not have happened in the first place.
Where is Lyman Woods?
Lyman Woods is jointly owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and Downers Grove Park District, who recently opened an interpretive center within the preserve. Located on the south side of 31st Street east of Highland Avenue in Downers Grove. A new parking lot is on the south side of 31st Street east of Highland Avenue. For some history, see -> http://www.pdha.org/LymanWoods.html
Oh. I always thought that was Oak Brook.
Could use a bike trail, or would that somehow be a violation of the natural angelic serenity that is the virgin woods?? Wouldn’t want to disturb the possums.
How come no one remembers that this used to be a sub-division??? Just wondering???
They have great kids programs there.
The land that makes up Lyman Woods and Midwestern University used to be an all together different college. Read on…
In 1966, George Williams College bought a large piece of the Lyman land. In the mid 1980s Midwest University bought the campus, but the natural areas were put up for sale. The Village of Downers Grove and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County bought 81 acres, including the oak savanna. The Downers Grove Park District later became part owner and manager of this land through an intergovernmental agreement. Good Samaritan Hospital also bought some of the George Williams College land and granted a permanent seven-acre easement adjacent to the preserve. Over the years, several parcels have been added to the preserve, including 38 acres slated for redevelopment but saved in 1997 after two years of valiant effort by the Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance.
That’s interesting how it changed and grew back. Mr. Thoman will you take more pictures next year? Dgombudsman thank you for the history.
I was out pedaling one sat., when I decided to go into Lyman Woods, a local preserve. Some old guy came my way holding his hands up, like stop. He said “You must be the guy making all those tire tracks I see”. Well no, I hadn’t been in the place in over 3 years. “Bikes aren’t allowed”, he told me. “Where is the sign? I asked. There wasn’t one on the entrance I came in, just one saying no dogs or motorized vehicles. The sign is over there and he pointed east in the direction of the college, which is private property. I pedaled up to the visitor center and saw a no bike sign about the size of a small envelope. It was in amongst a lot other papers and was easy to miss. The local web site said nothing about bikes. “You must be the sherriff” I said. No, he was the ornithologist. That got me to thinking, how much are we paying the guy to sit on his butt and watch the birds with his binocs? He was as old or older than me. He reacted like I had invaded his own personal feifdom. I’ll bet there are some no bike signs up in the near future. I came away with the feeling that he was a retiree and had managed to get additional income from us taxpayers .
Looking at the DGPD yearly report, I saw a salary load of about $150K. That is about 2 to 4 people full time. I also saw a charge of $459K. I assume that is the visitor center construction.