About Us

LBOLA was formed in 1981 by Carolyn Goetz (left) for the purpose of saving a small wetland and white pine plantation from being developed into a housing subdivision.

Carolyn’s success led to the eventual purchase of the property by the Lake Bluff Park District and what is now known as the Carolyn Goetz Wetlands Preserve.

Soon after the land was purchased, we replaced the bridge crossing Ravine Park at Gurney Avenue which was primarily spearheaded and funded by LBOLA and the Elmer Vliet family.

LBOLA also planted a native lakefront prairie habitat and cottonless cottonwoods at Lake Bluff Beach.

Prior to leaving Lake Bluff in 1996, Carolyn and LBOLA fought hard to eventually gain village permission to restore 35 acres to the south of the new water plant located just west of Highway 176, 1/4 mile west of Green Bay Road. The area is now known as the Skokie River Preserve.

It’s a “restored prairie,” in the sense that the native forbes (wildflowers) and tall grasses now growing there grew from suppressed plants or germinated from seeds that had lain dormant in the soil for several decades.

Our clearing of non-native shrubs and weeds exposed them to the sun so they could finally germinate and again retake their place in an environment where prairie and savanna habitats are constantly shrinking. The best estimates are that only 0.1% of the ‘Prairie State’ is recognizable today as either prairie or savanna. In this regard, we’re quite proud to be able to include our Skokie Preserve in the additions column.

In 1998, with the Skokie River Prairie well underway, LBOLA turned its attention to another long-neglected parcel that separated LBOLA’s Skokie River Prairie from Lake Forest Open Lands’ properties. The Lake County Forest Preserve’s “Lake Bluff Site” is an 80-acre parcel purchased jointly in the mid-1980s by the Forest Preserve District and the state’s Water Resources Department for the construction of a huge floodwater retention basin.

With the site’s future in doubt, LBOLA still moved ahead with restoration activities. We had about 15 acres cleared for prairie restoration as well as many more acres of magnificent old-growth bur oak savanna “liberated” from the invasive non-native understory that threatened its future.

In 2010 the Skokie River Prairie was registered with the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission as an Illinois Land and Water Reserve.

In 2017, LBOLA restored eastern Dwyer Woods with aid from the Lake Bluff Elementary School, it was a 5-day effort. Thanks to resident volunteers and our interns, what was a dark, impenetrable patch of buckthorn is now restored woodland.

In 2019 & 2020 LBOLA cleared a stand of aggressive Poplar from the Prairie Preserve @ Belle Foret Drive, restoring it to a prairie-savannah ecosystem.

Beginning in 2020, LBOLA undertook a number of projects with the help of state & local grants. This includes:

• Invasive removal, installation of native trees/shrubs, and vegetation management at the Skokie River Prairie Land & Water Reserve
• Removal of invasive species along Rockland Road, next to the Lake Bluff Golf Course
• Aquatic invasive control, Boardwalk rebuild, and native plant re-introduction at the Carolyn Goetz Wetlands
• Ravine Park tree inventory & invasive species management
• Installation of native shrubs at Prairie Preserve as habitat for native avian populations
• Acquisition of a “Burn Wagon” for conducting prescribed burning on LBOLA-managed properties
• Wetland Delineation at the Skokie River Prairie Land and Water Reserve
• Equipment upgrades for LBOLA staff & volunteer events

Thank you:

• Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency (JAWA)
• ComEd’s Green Region Grant Program
• Illinois Clean Energy Program
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources
• Illinois Nature Preserve Commission
• Lake Bluff Park District
• Lake County Audubon Society
• Lake Forest Garden Club
• Project Wingspan