McHenry County Blog

Long-time readers, if that’s a term that can be used with a publication that started in October of 2005, know my beef that the McHenry County Conservation has short-changed Crystal Lake.

My definition of Crystal Lake is Crystal Lake Grade School District 47’s territory.

The area has

• a bike path,


• part of Hollows,


• Lake in the Hills Fen, which Crystal Lakers cannot yet get to without going through Lake in the Hills (but on which progress is being made by the district) and


• an unopened parcel west of West Grade School.

In the Fall newsletter, “Landscapes,” is information about new land acquisitions.

Purchased with taxpayer money were

• 5.5 acres in Bull Valley located at the Southeast corner of Route 120 and Thompson Road to become part of the 219-acre Boone Creek Conservation Area and


• 29 acres on the south wide of Wonder Lake Road adjacent to the Barber Fen Nature Preserve.

The article on page 3 says that ‘17.7 acre(s) will stay in the District’s agricultural lease program. Presumably the district will lease its land for corn or soybeans and not to growers of marijuana, such as those who were raising about 1,800 and 2,000 plants on MCCD parcels southeast and southwest of Hebron. Most of my questions still have not been answered.

In addition, MCCD received two gifts:

• 15.9 acres from Town and Country Homes next to the Stickney Run Conservation Area on the west side of Barreville Road, including the stream that feeds Stickney Run and


• 7.4 acres in Spring Grove just north of the district’s Nippersink Canoe Base Conservation Area.

= = = = =
Sorry about the lack of uniformity in the map. When I received it, roads and streets covered the map. As I copied it, all of that disappeared, except for the far southern portion. Look around Crystal Lake, the lake, and you can see how little money has been invested here. The proportion of taxes paid from within District 47's boundaries has approached 25%. It is a bit less now.

Labels: Barber Fen Nature Preserve, MCCD, McHenry County Conservation District, Nippersink Canoe Base Conservation Area, Stickney Run Conservation Area