Many of you know the RPC from our articles in the Village Voice or from our email notices. Some have visited our web site www.riverwoodsrpc.org. Others have enjoyed our educational events. But there are still those who are not familiar with us. We’d like to introduce ourselves to them, and to update our supporters.

What is the Riverwoods Preservation Council? The RPC is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, composed of resident volunteers and supported entirely by your contributions. The RPC is independent of the Village government and the Riverwoods Residents Association.

What is the RPC’s mission? The RPC exists to help protect what makes Riverwoods unique – woodlands that the State of Illinois considers endangered – its ancient trees and its plant and animal inhabitants.

What has the RPC been doing? We’ve sponsored interesting speakers and placed articles in the Village Voice and on the RPC web site (www.riverwoodsrpc.org). The central topic has been the flora and fauna of our wonderful Riverwoods environment. We hope you have enjoyed them as much as we have. More importantly, we hope you have learned as much as we did. Riverwoods presents a great opportunity to learn about our role in the natural environment, and to act on that knowledge to preserve our environment for future generations.

What is the RPC’s message? The central theme in all our activities has been simple: habitat preservation. A healthy habitat is a complex network of interdependent species. Plants and wildlife in Riverwoods have a variety of habitat needs if they are to survive. Like the plants and animals, we rely on our habitat for our physical well-being as well as for our personal enjoyment. The question for all of us is: how do we relate to our environment? Is it something for us to exploit, or something for us to nurture and preserve? The RPC believes that only through careful preservation will our fragile habitat survive. If we can convey that message well enough to inspire you, we know we will achieve our goals.

What will the RPC be doing in the future? Besides continuing events, we are working on several projects, some of which may be less visible initially but that will have even greater long-term benefits:

• Biodiversity inventory The RPC has applied for a state grant to inventory trees and other plant species in Riverwoods, in order to evaluate the health of our woodlands. We thank all of you who offered to make your properties available for this inventory.
• Chicago Wilderness The RPC has been accepted into the Chicago Wilderness consortium, an alliance of over 200 organizations working to study, protect and restore the natural ecosystems of the Chicago region. These efforts will enhance biodiversity and enrich local residents’ quality of life.
• Stewardship Guide The RPC is nearing completion of a homeowners’ guide to Riverwoods. The Guide, which will be distributed without charge to every household, is a “how-to” guide to living in a wooded ecosystem.

Is there really an environmental problem in Riverwoods? Yes. The consensus among experts is that the natural environment in Riverwoods is declining.

How does it affect me? If you enjoy the secluded, natural environment of Riverwoods, you are no doubt concerned about the future of the woodlands. There is also the economic factor. The value of Riverwoods properties arises in large measure from the uniqueness of the community – its wooded ambiance.

What can each of us do? Here are some ideas:
1. Educate ourselves about factors that endanger our environment, such as:

• Poor development practices. Some unfortunate development trends and construction practices are eliminating woodlands. The results: Fewer trees. Stressed and injured trees. A less diverse group of plants and wildlife because of smaller, fragmented habitat. Increased localized flooding.
• Overbrowsing by deer. Large deer herds are wiping out the woodland understory, eliminating saplings necessary to replace trees dying of old age or stress. Also being eliminated are native plants that serve as food and habitat for other wildlife, leading to their disappearance in our area. The ground is left open for garlic mustard and other invasives.
• Invasive plants. Invasives such as garlic mustard and buckthorn crowd out other plants by creating shade and changing soil chemistry.