Monday, December 3, 2012
The bloodhound ended her career as a search and rescue dog in Will County this September.
For seven years, Rosie the bloodhound spent her days sniffing out justice as a search and rescue man-trailing dog with the Forest Preserve District of Will County Police Department. She was the forest preserve’s first police dog, and on Sept. 21, her ninth birthday, Rosie retired, due to arthritis and chronic ear infections. However, she still sometimes visits the department with her owner and former handler, Lieutenant Tracy Phillips, strolling up and down the halls and looking for an affectionate pat. “She’s pampered is what she is,” said Bruce Hodgdon, public information specialist and press liaison for the forest preserve district. Rosie wasn’t always pampered, though. During her career with the forest preserve, she lent her sharp …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
With binoculars and scopes, participants can watch as herons, egrets and other birds lay eggs and raise their hatchlings.
The most interesting time to bird watch at Lake Renwick Heron Rookery is between March and mid-August, the breeding season for the myriad birds who call the nature preserve home. Unfortunately, the 320-acre Plainfield preserve is closed to the public during that time so the birds are not disturbed. The only way to get a peek is if you sign up for one of two guided migratory bird walks held at 8 a.m. this Saturday and next or for one of the twice-weekly guided bird watching hikes -- 10 a.m. Wednesdays and 8 a.m. Saturdays -- that begin May 2. Lake Renwick is a nesting spot for herons, egrets and cormorants, but it also attracts many kinds of waterfowl and migratory birds that stop at the preserve en route to other locations. The nature …
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Waste Management will pick it up curbside, Will County Forest Preserve District will use it for trails and landscaping, or you can put it in the back yard.
If you have a real Christmas tree in your home, the needles are probably dropping off at a fast and furious pace by now. Time to think about getting rid of the old girl. If you live in Plainfield, leave it at the curb on your refuse pickup day and Waste Management will haul it away for you and turn it into mulch. Remember, however, that any tree taller than six feet must be cut into sections. Those who don't have municipal garbage collection can turn to the Will County Forest Preserve District for help. It has four locations where trees can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Jan. 9: Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet, Monee Reservoir and Goodenow Creek Nature Preserve in Beecher. …
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Knowing the area's colorful history is half the fun of walking the nature preserve's trails and taking tours to the bird nesting areas.
Plainfield’s first pioneers flocked to the area that is now Lake Renwick to establish the village's earliest community, Walker’s Grove. That patch of prairie - named for Methodist minister Jesse Walker, who helped establish the settlement in 1828 - has morphed over the years from grassy plain to gravel quarry to spring-fed lake to summer retreat to bird sanctuary. “Most of the people who come out here to see the birds have no idea the many different forms Lake Renwick has taken through its history,” said Greg Bluhm, a volunteer for the Will County Audubon Society. In fact, it might not exist at all today had the Forest Preserve District of Will County not stepped in to prevent it from being turned into a residential development. The 320-…
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Lake Renwick Heron Rookery Nature Preserve
23144 W. Renwick Road, Plainfield, IL
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Forest Preserve District Board has approved the practice as a means of cutting down on the huge deer population.
Sharpshooters will begin culling deer in forest preserves around Will County later this year to reduce overpopulation, in spite of local officials' safety concerns. "Sharpshooting activities will begin in December and continue through March," Forest Preserve District of Will County Executive Director Marcy DeMauro said last week. Forest Preserve District commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with their deer-culling program, which the commissioners began discussing in February. The initiative has been met with resistance from some community members. Sharpshooters will be working to reduce the deer population in McKinley Woods, a 400-acre property that backs up to residential areas on the south side of Channahon. "Our concern …
