Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Highland Park may soon reopen; ‘I look forward to walking on the trails again’

Closed for more than two years, the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve may reopen this summer as the Lake County Forest Preserves District prepares to take ownership of the 77-acre preserve along the shores of Lake Michigan in Highland Park.

The Forest Preserves District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved accepting the property as a gift from Openlands during a meeting Wednesday at the district’s general offices in Libertyville, setting the mechanism for reopening in motion.

With board approval, Executive Director Ty Kovach said the district has 60 days for due diligence, including an environmental assessment, before closing the deal. Concerns about military explosives found at the former base in 2021 which caused the closing remain.

“The Forest Preserves plans to conduct its own safety analysis and hopes to open the 77-acre parcel later this summer,” Kovach said in an email after the meeting. “The forest preserves does not own the property until the closing.”

Gerald Adelmann, the Openlands president and CEO, said in an email he does not believe the land is set for public access just yet. His organization continues to work with the U.S. Navy to prepare the property.

“Openlands continues to assist the Navy and its contractor with implementation of the series of recommendations,” Adelmann said in the email. “An additional site inspection and installation of public signage are examples of work yet to be completed.”

John Sheppard, the public information officer for Naval Station Great Lakes, said the Navy is in the process of doing its part to get the preserve open. It is making signs and a video telling people what to do if unexploded ordinance is found.

“It will not take long. I’m not worried,” Sheppard said. “It looked like a training grenade,” he added, referring to the ordnance found two years ago. “I look forward to walking on the trails again.”

Though the district plans to do its own analysis, Kovach is optimistic about the condition of the property. Though a review will be conducted, he is not questioning the Navy’s assessment.

“We have seen the Navy report, everything is a green light, a go on that,” Kovach said during the meeting.

After the unexploded ordnances were found in April, 2021, Openlands closed the preserve and began a thorough inspection working with the Navy and the city of Highland Park. Though no additional devices were found, Adelmann said the effort was extensive.

Openlands and the Forest Preserves District issued a news release June 5 announcing the gift of the land at the southeast corner of the former Fort Sheridan. Adelmann said in the release the organization acquires, “critical parcels transferring them at the appropriate time to qualified landowners.”

Though readying land for eventual owners was long Openlands’ mission, the preserve in Highland Park became an exception. Adelmann said in the email when the organization was unable to find an eventual owner, it began a fundraising effort to keep it long-term.

“Openlands agreed to make an exception to its protocol to ensure the protection of the land,” Adelmann said in the email. “We then launched a fundraising campaign to help with the site’s restoration and operation as a public nature preserve.”

When the Lake County Forest Preserves District indicated an interest, Adelmann said the time was ripe to transfer the property. Kovach said Openlands will also transfer approximately $1 million to the district’s charitable arm.

Board member Paul Frank, D-Highland Park, whose district contains the preserve, said he is continually questioned by constituents about when the preserve will reopen. He is glad to be about to let them know it will happen relatively soon.

“I think the users of the Openlands Preserve at Fort Sheridan are going to be very excited about the prospect that in the near future we intend to open the preserve and restore public access to what Openlands has created there, and to the lakefront,” Frank said.

While board member Ann Maine, R-Lincolnshire, voted to acquire the property, she said it will add to some of the problems the district already has with a smaller parcel it owns and operates at the north end of the Former Fort Sheridan.

“Now we’re going to have this big one, and we’re going to have to open it up because there have been a lot of complaints anyway,” she said. “There are webpages devoted to it, that it is not open, and now we are going to have a mile of shoreline.”

“We are going to be putting a lot of money into that just to police it ... and field all those (calls),” Maine said at the meeting. “I can only imagine what we’re going to hear about as we move forward.”