Riverwoods is truly unique. It’s a heavily-wooded oasis in the midst of suburban sprawl, about 20 minutes north of the country’s second busiest airport and about 40 minutes north of the country’s third largest city.
The village is a critical link in a major green corridor of rivers and forest preserves that provides habitat for numerous local and migrating birds, as well as for many other native animals, plants and insects. The green corridor includes the Des Plaines River, Ryerson Woods, the Lake County Forest Preserve and the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Much of the Village retains a rural character. Most of the land is privately owned for residential use. Residents must rely on each other to preserve and restore the land for future generations.
Significant portions of the area are or were rare and imperiled northern flatwoods, characterized by oak forests, clay soils, shallow aquifers, wetlands and ephemeral ponds scattered throughout. Environmentalists prize such areas for the unique habitats they provide as well as their rarity.
The woodlands have suffered serious degradation due to numerous factors, including invasives, fragmentation, deer overbrowse, canopy shading and lack of ecologically-sensitive development and residential land management practices. The RPC is endeavoring to address these issues in a variety of ways. For example, see Woodland Health.
For information on another organization in Riverwoods, the RRA and its Plant Committee, Click Here.
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(Photograph of Des Plaines River by Louise Simonson)
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