Locally known as Jensen Woods. The 80 acre Lake Bluff Site straddles the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff border. Running along the length of the Skokie River, the LB Site connects LBOLA’s Skokie River Prairie Reserve on the north, to LFOLA’s Skokie River Nature Preserve. The Site includes spectacular old growth oak-hickory woodland, The Southern Grove, and prairie remnant including The Birch Prairie.
This site features a large grove of massive bur and white oaks estimated to be be over 220 years old, a small high quality prairie remnant known as The Birch Prairie. Originally designed as the back yard for the famed Kelley Estate on Green Bay Road, the landscape was designed by legendary Landscape Architect Jens Jensen who excavated the large kidney-shaped lake to match a smaller one next to Green Bay, and also lined banks of the Skokie River with Wisconsin Lannon Stone for a touch of class.
Noted biologist Wayne Schennum, PhD. says: “Increased volunteer efforts…will transform the Lake Bluff Site into an integral part of a 225 acre Lake Bluff-Lake Forest prairie-savanna-wetland natural area, characteristic of the Skokie River valley at the time of Euro-American settlement. This natural area will make a significant contribution to biodiversity preservation in the area.”
