Kane County Forest Preserve District Awarded $600,000 Grant for Muirhead Springs

Birdwatching will get even better at Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve, next year, thanks to a grant award, announced this week.

On Jan. 14, 2026, the Forest Preserve District of Kane County was notified it was one of 100 communities across the state to receive a 2026 Open Space Land Acquisition & Development (OSLAD) grant.

The Forest Preserve District applied for the grant to help fund a wildlife observation overlook at Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve in Hampshire. The District will receive the maximum awarded for an OSLAD development project, $600,000. Estimated to cost $2,001,400, the project includes an elevated, ADA-accessible overlook to see shorebirds and other wildlife frequenting Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve, an area for education, interpretive signage, a trail and small shelter.

“The project will include a fully accessible wildlife observation deck that provides opportunities for residents and visitors of Kane County to view and experience acres of wildlife habitat, including restored prairie, wetlands and open water,” said Director of Planning & Land Protection Jennifer Rooks-Lopez.

“Below the highest area of the deck, an outdoor classroom and gathering area will be constructed to provide shade and space for groups and individuals to gather for classes or to immerse themselves into the prairie. The proposed limestone screenings path will provide an easy connection between the observation deck and existing parking lot, shelter and restroom. A small shelter will be situated along the access trail to provide a stopping point for people who are going to or from the observation deck and provide some shade. Native landscaping will also be added to all the disturbed areas, plus interpretive signage about native plants and wildlife,” Rooks-Lopez said.

Forest Preserve District Executive Director Benjamin Haberthur added, “Muirhead Springs is the biggest and best wetland the District has restored to date, and we want to get the public more easily into their public lands. We promised we would do so during the 2024 Land Acquisition & Preserve Improvement Referendum. This was one of six key projects we advertised; now, we’re delivering on that.

“We’re in a race to restore as much land and save as many plant and animal species as possible, before they go extinct. We’re not just playing a long game, but the forever game. Accordingly, we need to be both economically sustainable as well as ecologically. Our history of winning grants through OSLAD has allowed us to make habitat at a faster pace, while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” he said.

The conversion of Muirhead Springs from farming back into nature began 25 years ago. The Forest Preserve District began the wetland restoration three years ago. Ecological restoration companies V3 & RES were hired for this big earth-moving project. “Almost as soon as we began holding water on the project, rare and varied shorebirds and other wildlife began visiting the site, most remarkable of which was the federally endangered Whooping Crane. Only 700 Whoopers exist in the world, only 500 of those are migratory, and 3 visited our wetland as soon as we started creating it. As a result, we want to make this area more accessible and available to everybody” Haberthur said.

“Wherever the rare birds appear, the birders follow. We’re also excited to partner with Kane County Audubon. They’ll be helping fund the interpretive signage for the project. We’ll be developing bird-centric art and signage that will adorn the new observation platform, and tell the story of the cranes, black terns, phalaropes and other wild diversity that is already using the site. We look forward to watching together to see what other animals will make this habitat a home,” Haberthur said.

The Muirhead Springs observation platform project is expected to begin permitting, preliminary and final engineering this year, with construction beginning in early 2027.

In a statement accompanying the grant awards, Gov. JB Pritzker said, “Since I became Governor, it’s been my mission to build stronger, healthier communities across Illinois. Through the OSLAD program, we’re bringing that vision to life by awarding over $55.2 million to local park projects, expanding green spaces and creating new recreational opportunities for all.”

Established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1986, OSLAD is a cost-sharing program between state and local governments that helps communities fund land acquisition and development for parks, forest preserves and outdoor recreation projects. Since its establishment, OSLAD has awarded $640 million for park projects throughout Illinois.

Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve is located at 42W855 Bahr Rd., Hampshire. For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, visit www.kaneforest.com or find the District on social media by searching @forestpreserve.