On the banks of the Fox River in the southwestern
corner of Lake County, Illinois, you can almost see back through time. Not so long ago, at least on the 4.5-billion-year arc of Earth’s history, a wall of ice between 700–2,000 feet tall covered everything in view today.

Today, 691 acres near the Fox River’s eastern shore make up Grassy Lake Forest Preserve in the town of Lake Barrington. 

Subtle glimpses of the area’s glacial history are visible in the landscape there and elsewhere in the county. They’re remnants from the most recent Ice Age, which ended 10,000–12,000 years ago. 

Average temperatures were only 7–13 degrees
colder then compared to today. Already, Illinois’ average daily temperature has risen 1–2 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 120 years. Depending on current and future levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, “by the end of the 21st
century, unprecedented warming of 4–9 degrees or 8–14 degrees is likely in Illinois.”

We’re on the precipice of another major shift in
climate, both globally and locally in Lake County.

Guests:

• Jim Anderson, retired director of natural
  resources, Lake County Forest Preserves


• Dr. Trent Ford,
  Illinois State Climatologist


• April Vaos, Public Program Specialist, Lake
  County Forest Preserves

Forest Preserves Mentioned:

• Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve (Lake Forest)


• Grassy Lake Forest Preserve (Lake Barrington)


• Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve (Wadsworth)

Links and Sources Mentioned:

• 100-Year Vision for Lake County


• Climate Change: Impacts and Costs to Illinois Factsheet


• Emily K. Coleman (Lake County News-Sun)


• Great Lakes Commission


• July 2017 Flooding Recap


• Lake County PASSAGE


• Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves


• Road Map to 2025


• Tony Briscoe (Chicago Tribune)


• Yadira Sanchez Olson (Lake County News-Sun)

***

If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves’ endowment campaign. Your gift will help provide a perpetual, dependable funding source and ensure every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/donate.

Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org.

This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, Environmental Communications Specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Featuring research and expertise from Jim Anderson, Dr. Trent Ford and April Vaos. Script editing by Alyssa Firkus, Dr. Trent Ford, Ty Kovach, Jeanna Martinucci, Kim Mikus, Rebekah Snyder, Matt Ueltzen, April Vaos and Pati Vitt. Music and sound effects from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto.

Words of the Woods is a production of the
Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.