Nature Conservancy to conduct forest restoration along Highway 61

As an ongoing project, the Nature Conservancy will continue to reforest land along Highway 61, this time near the Cascade Beach Road between the Highway 61 mile marker 97 and mile marker 99.

Because Cook County owns some of the property along this stretch, Nature Conservancy representative Justin Pszwaro came before the county board on April 30 requesting permission from the commissioners to allow this area to be brushed and replanted.

Due to the COVID- 19 virus and to ensure the safety of Cook County residents, Justin said the Nature Conservancy workers would come each day from Aurora Hoyt Lakes and return home to Aurora each night when their work was finished.

During the day, work crews will clear and cut brush (mostly hazel, mountain maple, and honeysuckle) in upland areas, and then plant white pine, Northern white cedar, and white spruce.

Fifty White Pine and fifty Northern White Cedar trees will be planted and fenced to protect them from the deer, said Pszwaro. About 200 white spruce will be planted and won’t need tree-protection fencing because they are not part of the white-tailed deer’s menu.

The Nature Conservancy has been working to restore white pine and cedar along the North Shore because these trees have mostly been eliminated due to extremely high deer density.

During clearing, Justin said workers would occasionally cut small diameter balsam fir and (rarely) cut paper birch (up to three or four inches in diameter), with no plans to cut any large trees.

To date, the Nature Conservancy has partnered with Cascade State Park and completed about 50 acres of reforestation on park property, but there remains a sizable forested area within this corridor that is owned by Cook County as part of the Cascade Beach Road right-of-way.

Pszwaro told commissioners that during the winter, he conducted a neighborhood outreach with cabin and homeowners living along the area that could be affected by the work, and he received favorable comments in support of the project.

Commissioners voted unanimously to support the Nature Conservancy project; work will begin soon and last about one month.