No 'Unacceptable Risk' To Users Of Openlands Lakeshore Preserve: Navy

GREAT LAKES, IL — An assessment of Openlands Lakeshore Preserve completed for the U.S. Navy earlier this year determined there is a low probability of the discovery of more potentially dangerous munitions.

Produced by the consultancy TetraTech, the report calls for increased public safety messaging, inspection by Navy officials at the end of snowmelt and after major storms and the suspension of controlled burns at the 77-acre site.

"Although it is not possible to guarantee that no additional items will be discovered in the future, the Navy believes adhering to the recommended mitigation measures will reduce and manage risk in a manner that makes it possible for persons entering the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve to once again enjoy it," the report found.

Lake County Forest Preserve District commissioners today approved a contract with the nonprofit Openlands to accept the transfer of the property to the county.

The preserve has been closed to the public since the discovery of three military artifacts — one grenade and two flares — during a single week at the bottom of the bluff and along the beach.

The items were destroyed by the Waukegan Police Department's bomb squad, but no determination of whether the items still contained any explosive material was ever conducted, according to the final Historic Document Review and Field Investigation Report submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in March and approved for release last month.

TetraTech staff who specialize in working with unexploded ordnance inspected the site in December 2021 and May 2022.

The second survey covered about 43 acres of the property — all accessible portions of the preserve — but no material potential presenting an explosive hazard was found, according the report.

But the report found there is still a "residual risk" of finding more potentially explosive devices below the ground surface.

"The probability of encountering [munitions' and explosives of concern or material potentially presenting an explosive hazard] at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve is low based on review of the historical documents, the two site inspections completed, and implementation of the recommendations in this report," it said.

"The potential risks identified will be mitigated to an acceptable level so long as persons entering the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve adhere to all recommendations," according to the report. "Although it is not possible to guarantee that there are no remaining munitions risk, following the 3Rs (Recognize, Retreat and Report) of munitions safety, staying in authorized areas, and no digging or other intrusive activities in the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve are the best means to enjoy the Openlands Lakeshore Preserves."

Digging, burying things, driving stakes and construction-type activities should be avoided in the preserve, the report said. On-site unexploded ordnance experts should be on hand whenever conducting intrusive activities in the preserve.

Chicago-based Openlands has arranged to donate the preserve and a nearly $1.3 million endowment to the Lake County Forest Preserves, which aims to combine it with the existing Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve and establish nearly 2 miles of contiguous, publicly-accessible shoreline.

According to a site history included in the Navy report, Fort Sheridan is located on a Native American trail between Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the area that would become Chicago.

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In the 1840s, it became a manufacturing center and lumber shipping port, with many of the oak trees in the area cut down and turned into houses, barns, ships, wagons and firewood, the report said. The town of St. Johns operated in the area until 1865.

Fort Sheridan, originally called Camp Highwood, was established in 1887. It was used as an infantry post and deployed members of the military to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 and subsequent labor unrest, according to the report.

It operated as a military base for the following 106 years, serving as a Nike missile launch site in the 1950s.

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The installation was officially closed in 1993, and the following year it was split between the U.S. Navy and private ownership.

Openlands took ownership of the site gradually from 2006 to 2010 and opened it to the public in 2011. In 2013, state officials designated it as an Illinois Nature Preserve.

With Openlands set to transfer ownership of the preserve to the county, a Lake County Forest Preserve District representative said it is expected to open to the public before the autumn.

"The Forest Preserves plans to conduct its own safety analysis and hopes to open the 77-acre parcel later this summer, most likely around Labor Day," spokesperson Kim Mikus told Patch.

According to the purchase agreement approved today by forest preserve commissioners, county officials have a 60-day due diligence period during which they can pull out of the deal.

As part of the contract, the district agreed to maintain the donor plaques and art installations already present in the preserve.

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Earlier:

• Openlands To Gift Lakeshore Preserve To Lake County Forest Preserves
• Navy's Openlands Explosives Report, Reopening Recommendations Complete
• Openlands Prepares Site Reopening Plan For Lakeshore Preserve