Applied Ecological Services, Inc.
Wisconsin Office
17921 Smith Road,
P. O. Box 256
Brodhead, WI 53520
Phone: 608.897.8641
Voicemail: 608.897.4898
AES Fax: 608.897.8486
TCRN Fax: 608.897.2044
Info@AppliedEco.com

Illinois Office
120 West Main St
W. Dundee, IL 60118
Phone: 847.844.9385
Fax: 847.844.8759
Info.il@AppliedEco.com

Kansas City Office
1904 Elm Street
Eudora, KS 66025
Phone 785.542.3090
Fax 785.542.3570
Info.ks@AppliedEco.com

Minnesota Office
21938 Mushtown Rd
Prior Lake, MN 55372
Phone: 952.447.1919
Fax: 952.447.1920
Info.mn@AppliedEco.com

East Coast Office
1100 E. Hector Street Suite #398
Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone: 610.238.9088
Info.pa@AppliedEco.com

Winning the race to restore the Greater Raceway Woods Ecosystem:
Fox Valley Land Foundation, AES, and concerned community team up to save site of old racetrack.

Entryway to Raceway Woods

In the 1970s, when June Keibler moved to Dundee, IL, nearby Raceway Woods was her opportunity to get out into nature, learn about wildflowers and watch birds. Not long after, when the Raceway Woods property - approximately 300 acres of woodland, agricultural land, savanna, fen, floodplain, sedge meadow, and stream communities - went on the market and was under threat of development, Keibler felt compelled to protect it.

Banding together with other concerned citizens and naturalists, she helped create the Open Spaces District. The group managed to raise interest and get the community involved: local residents got into the act by approving the Open Spaces District Referendum and accepting a tax increase which funded the protection of the first 50 acres. Then, in 1994, the Kane County Forest Preserve matched their contribution, purchasing an additional 42 acres contiguous with Park District holdings. A couple of years later, several Raceway Woods land owners also contributed easements on acres of high quality woodland, savanna and fen communities.

"Really, we've been working on saving Raceway Woods for about 20 years," commented Keibler, who sits on the Dundee Park District Board and acts as liaison to the Raceway Woods Partnership. "It's a wonderful tribute to the community, everyone pulling together like this."

Through this perseverance and teamwork, much of the Greater Raceway Woods Ecosystem (185 acres, so far) has been purchased or put into an easement to protect, preserve, and restore important natural communities, and to provide passive recreational and educational opportunities for the entire region. So, once the land was secured, the big question was how to proceed with the restoration process. In December of 1998, the Raceway Woods partners submitted a funding proposal to the Army Corps of Engineers for the restoration of Raceway Woods.

Following Corps approval, the Fox Valley Land Foundation contracted Applied Ecological Services (AES) to help facilitate the planning and restoration efforts. Thus began the restoration of the Greater Raceway Woods Ecosystem, a massive project scheduled to occur in several stages over several years and costing roughly $400,000.

What's so special about Raceway Woods?

From 1958 to 1969, Raceway Woods was home to Meadowdale International Raceway, then touted as one of the world's greatest racetracks. After the racetrack closed, illegal use of the land by off-road vehicles combined with the encroachment of exotic species to degrade the property and its native ecosystems. Still, the area is very valuable from an ecological perspective because of its large size, cohesive shape, and proximity to the Fox River corridor; the ecosystem is at the head of its own watershed. Remnant oak savanna, woodland, and understory species have managed to persist on the site, which is also scattered with several rare, high quality fens and seeps. Valuable tree and plant species still survive including large populations of alternate leaf dogwood and stands of butternut hickory. Fens and seeps on site discharge into streams that meander through the property and continue to the Fox River; however, several stretches of the streams are severely eroded and degraded due to new upstream development.

"It's a fairly urban area, but it's also the largest tract of natural land left in this county," said AES Senior Ecologist Mark O'Leary. "We've seen a lot of rare plants there: fringed gentian, bottle gentian, angelica, bristly aster, great blue lobilia, and cardinal flower, among many others."

Preliminary observations by AES suggested that restoration activities would include the following:

Removal of weedy species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle, sandbar willow, reed canary grass, garlic mustards, and other weeds;
Restoration and reconstruction of the original stream channels altered by debris jams and illegal off-road vehicle use;
Streambank stabilization using soil bioengineering techniques;
Removal of sediment that has accumulated in sedge meadow and other wetland areas adjacent to the streams;
Reestablishment of native wetland vegetation; and,
Restoration of upland buffer areas adjacent to stream corridors.

Laying the plans

In getting started, AES determined that there are three primary systemic problems negatively impacting the ecological integrity of the Greater Raceway Woods Ecosystem: hydrologic/ hydraulic modifications due to underground drain tiles and changes in the contributing watershed; the encroachment of weedy and woody vegetation due to fire suppression; and the introduction of exotic plant species. Initial efforts should focus on developing and implementing restoration plans for high quality fen and wetland communities on site, as well as streams and adjacent buffer communities. Fen restoration would consist primarily of removing woody and herbaceous exotic species, reestablishing native vegetation, and restoring the natural fire regime.

Stream restoration, however, would be considerably more complex. There, the primary objective is to restore the ecological integrity of the streams and stream corridors that will result in improved water quality, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and educational and passive recreational opportunities. Hydrology and hydraulic studies would be necessary to define existing conditions, and would drive subsequent restoration efforts.

To prioritize the Raceway Woods project, wetland and adjacent buffer areas were divided into 13 management units. A variety of factors were considered in defining specific units, including similar or associated vegetation communities, degrees of degradation, likely restoration tasks, technical skills required to implement recommended restoration, potential restoration costs, professional judgment as to the practicality and timing of restoring each unit, and other factors.

Next, the management units themselves had to be prioritized. It was decided that large management units that can easily and inexpensively be restored should, in general, take precedence over smaller units that are more difficult and expensive to restore. Projects that contribute the most toward improved water quality and the long-term stability of the creek channel should also take precedence over those that contribute less to soil stabilization and water quality.

"We decided to focus first on the high quality upstream areas versus the downstream areas," AES' O'Leary explained. "We started erosion control efforts in 1999, which included removing trees to reduce the wicking effect on the wetlands, removing drain tiles, and taking out exotic species and brush to open up the canopies. The high quality areas around the wetlands are being worked on first; this spring, we will begin further erosion control and streambank stabilization using bioengineering techniques. "We are striving to achieve the most wetland for the least expenditure of money," he added.

Almost halfway there

Today, the Raceway Woods restoration project as a whole is about 40 - 50% complete, according to Keibler: "Some bulldozer/heavy equipment work still needs to be done - not necessarily resculpting the streamway, but making the banks of the creek more stable. Even after we complete our priority areas, there will still be tons of work to do; for example, we'd like to build a nice entrance to the nature area, and create trails for all the citizens of the county - of the whole state, for that matter - to use and enjoy. And, of course, we are always working on obtaining grants."

According to AES, five of the 13 management units have been completed, and construction work at Raceway Woods is expected to be finished by the end of this summer. Parts of the area are already open to the public, and the Corps will be conducting fieldtrip tours to demonstrate alternative ways wetland mitigation can be achieved.

Keibler added that about 75% of the brush clearing has been completed, thanks not only to AES, but also to the hard work and enthusiasm of their 'other partners' - local students from Dundee Crown High School. There, Tracey Skivins currently teaches a science elective class on Raceway Woods to sophomores, juniors and seniors.

"Since Raceway Woods is very close to our school, we wanted to get the kids interested in restoration and land management, historical and cultural ideas. They go into the woods two to three times per week, depending on the weather, and clear out the brush - they really love it; they've even made garbage bins out of the non-native plants they've pulled up! Back in class, we study such issues as biodiversity, what makes a habitat stable, problems with housing developments, etc.," explained Skivins.

"Our goal is to develop a sense of stewardship of the land, so kids who are out there four-wheeling and riding their dirt bikes will understand the destruction they are doing."

AES Restoration Activities at Raceway Woods:

Brushing (selectively cutting weedy, woody vegetation, treating stumps with herbicide, and piling cut brush)
Basal bark treatments for selective woody vegetation within upland buffer area
Disabling known subsurface drain tiles
Herbicide applications to weedy herbaceous vegetation
Hand broadcasting native plant seed
Installing wetland plugs on both sides of creek
Installing tree and shrub whips
Installing water bars along eroded slopes
Installing dead brush fascines along toe of creek
Creek bank earthwork and boulder work
Oversight/engineering (wetland permitting, agency coordination, construction oversight, and project management)

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