Olympics & Lakewood Article

Olympic Bid Could Tame Lakewood

It may put Lake County, Illinois, on the map, give the forest preserve district a better venue for its equestrian constituents, and not cost taxpayers a penny. But the unanimous decision made by the Lake County Forest Preserves in January to offer up 300 acres of Lakewood Forest Preserve for conversion to an equestrian venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics has raised concerns among Lake County residents who support undeveloped open space. At about 3,000 acres, Lakewood is the district’s largest contiguous preserve and host to 17 state-endangered species of plants and animals. The Forest Preserve District would work with the City of Chicago and the International Olympic Committee to convert the land.

The public was made aware of the plans roughly two weeks before the district voted on the project. The proposed site at Lakewood Forest Preserve is south of Ivanhoe Road and west of Fairfield Road, in an area with nine miles of existing equestrian trails. The facility would be used for the two weeks of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games and then for the following week of Paralympics. Most of the open land that would be used for stables, warm-up areas, athletes’ lounge, and other amenities is currently agricultural field.

Some county taxpayers are protesting the decision, promising to fight it with letters to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the Olympic Committee itself, as well as alerting other residents. They say that 300 acres of land should be left open and restored to native habitat.
“No forest preserve in Lake County is safe if they can do this to one,” said Jay Glenn, a Lake Barrington, Illinois, resident and attorney who lives four miles away from Lakewood.
Forest Preserves Executive Director Tom Hahn has assured county taxpayers and environmentalists that no additional preserves would be affected if the Olympics deal goes through. (A final decision will be made in 2009.)

“As long as I am here at Lake County Forest Preserve District, preservation is first,” he said. “We selected the [preserve] that was as nonintrusive as possible.” Temple Farms and other Lake County venues had also been approached, but the Olympic Committee saw Lakewood as the best choice, said Hahn.

Private donations including significant financial backing from the well-known Pritzker family, enthusiastic equestrians, and Olympic funds will cover the costs, said Hahn. After the event, the preserve will have $12.5 million in infrastructure, making the area suitable for a variety of events, including major equestrian shows.

In response to protests that the 300 acres be used for restoration and as open land instead of an equestrian venue, Hahn said, “We try to keep 80 to 85 percent of all our preserves as natural areas. We’re cognizant that Lakewood is our largest preserve. We will put millions of dollars into restoration activities there,” he said, adding that the district just bought 147 acres of golf course next to Lakewood and will restore that land instead of using it as another golf course.

Glenn remains mistrustful. An Illinois statute allows forest preserves, except for the one in Cook County, to do whatever they wish with their land, he said. He thinks it’s time state constituents work to get that law changed.

Glenn and others, including Linda Breuer, who lives next door to the Lakewood Preserve, said it’s not only the 300 acres of land within the preserve they are worried about.

“Lakewood is a relatively wild area of Lake County,” said Glenn, and all that will change with construction, and the traffic that will no doubt come during the building.

But more troubling to some is that the wild creatures living in this region could be harmed irreparably because of construction and activity at the site. In fact, Broberg Marsh, just down the road from Lakewood, harbors some of the state’s rarest breeding birds, including black terns and yellow-headed blackbirds, both requiring specific water depths and vegetation to successfully nest. New sewer systems and added pavement could affect the water tables and buffer zones that these and other species need.

“We have a strong environmental process to go through” if the Olympics are held at Lakewood, Hahn said. The forest preserves will need to get approval from several governmental bodies, as well as the Olympic Committee itself.

But what happens after the venue is built and activities continue at the preserve? Studies suggest that noise and disturbance from large-scale equestrian events could push out any nearby nesting birds. Great blue herons, for example, will abandon their rookeries when traffic and other human disturbances are nearby.

Glenn said the Lakewood plan will likely revive the Route 53/176 extensions, adding to noise and wildlife disturbance. Further, he points to the Georgia International Horse Park near Atlanta, the venue for the 1996 Olympics. Once open buffer land around a 160-acre nature preserve, this park now hosts events nearly every day of the year, including equestrian and mountain biking competitions, fairs, festivals, concerts, and rodeos.

Some Lake County residents, including Middlefork Savanna steward Denis Bohm, think the Olympic equestrian center is a good idea. He says it will serve equestrians, one of the county’s constituent groups. But Glenn believes it will not serve others: “I’m protesting this plan for the next generation—and for wildlife.”