Topography

Although very subtle, what passes for topography in Illinois is visible in the prairie as the Skokie Valley descends to the waterway of the Skokie River which lies beneath the power lines to the west. Thousands of years ago this land was the lake bed of Lake Chicago, later the Skokie swamp famous in Lake Bluff’s early history as described by Elmer Vleit in his book Lake Bluff, The First Hundred Years as he quoted from a letter stating that “the Skokie Swamp was impassible by man or beast” including a description of a trip to Libertyville that included a detour north to Buckley Road in North Chicago in an attempt to avoid the Skokie Swamp. Early settlers, in an effort to farm the area, “ditched” the Skokie River and installed clay drain tiles 4’ beneath your feet in an effort to dry the wetland and make it more suitable for farming and grazing livestock.

Other Projects

Bike Path Prairie

Waving tall grasses, wildflower color and prairie heritage-the Bike Path Prairie welcomes visitors and residents to Lake Bluff.

The prairie stretches all the way from the water plant to the viaduct into town.

LBOLA was fortunate to find a receptive Lake County Dept. of Transportation agreeable to our 1999 request that the newly constructed bike path and underpass be planted with native prairie species.

Conservation Easements

The primary purpose of a conservation easement is to protect land from development. Lands for which conservation easements may be desirable include agricultural land, timber resources, and/or other valuable natural resources such as wildlife habitat, clean water, clean air, or scenic open space.

Although a conservation easement prohibits certain uses by the landowner, such an easement does not make the land public. LBOLA conforms to the Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices.

LBOLA Easements are known by the last name of the donor. Our donors included: Bryan, Zenni, Schuler, Keller, O’Neil, Crab Tree Farm, and Dahlman.