Unraveling the science of habitat restoration

Posted on June 27, 2024 by lakecountynature

Guest post by Kim Mikus

This article appears in the summer 2024 issue of Horizons, the award-winning quarterly magazine of the Lake County Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.

From a young age, we’re often taught that planting trees is good for the environment. So, why do we see large areas of trees sometimes removed from your forest preserves, leaving the land temporarily ragged and brown?

The answer is habitat restoration, a sequence of land management activities that improve the health, ecological function and diversity of species at a particular site, according to ecologists at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Sometimes that process involves removing non-native, invasive trees and other species.

During restoration efforts, you may see dramatic visual differences.

Two images showing a 40-acre area at Greenbelt Forest Preserve (North Chicago) during and after restoration.

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A different kind of autumn apple

Posted on September 30, 2019 by lakecountynature

Post by Jen Berlinghof

Fall is the time of harvest here in the Midwest. Golden stacks of hay bales, farmer’s markets teeming with end-of-season produce, and above all, apples. But step away from the orchard and into an oak woodland and you’ll find a different kind of autumn apple: an oak apple gall. What looks like a small, lime-green, spotted apple dangling from an oak leaf is not a fruit at all, but rather a secret abode for a tiny wasp.

There are more than 50 species of oak apple gall wasps in North America. Each one creates a unique fruit-like structure that protects and feeds its eggs and larvae as they develop. Lately, I’ve been finding many dried, spent brown husks created by the larger empty oak apple wasp (Amphibolips quercusinanis) around the Lake County Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.

The larger empty oak apple wasp (Amphibolips quercusinanis) is one of 50-plus species of oak apple gall wasps. Photo © Charley Eiseman.

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A new fall fashion

Posted on October 22, 2018 by brettpeto

Post by Brett Peto

Fall is my favorite season. I know it’s here on the first day I walk outside into the sort of air so crisp it makes your nose run instantly, somehow in a good way. Sunset shifts sooner. You opt for a sweater instead of a t-shirt and everything pumpkin-flavored becomes tastier than you remember. Best of all, the crowns of oaks, hickories, maples, and more across the Lake County Forest Preserves in Illinois change into their vibrant fall fashions.