Liberty Prairie Reserve

For decades a variety of public and private partners have worked in the Liberty Prairie Reserve to preserve natural habitats and farmland, to develop trails, and to care for the land. In March of 2013, planning partners including Conserve Lake County, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, Libertyville Township, the Liberty Prairie Foundation, and several others released draft versions of a master plan to protect and further improve this special place.

We will keep you up to date with the progress of this important plan.

FINAL DRAFT Executive Summary of Liberty Prairie Reserve Master Plan (Released March, 2013)

FINAL DRAFT Liberty Prairie Reserve Master Plan (Released March, 2013)

 

What is the Liberty Prairie Reserve?

land-preservation-lpr-trail

Located between Grayslake, Libertyville, and Gurnee, the Liberty Prairie Reserve is one of Lake County's special places. It is a beautiful blend of our rural heritage, a place of rolling hills with woodlands, farmland, prairies, and a pristine brook. View Map

What's unique about the Liberty Prairie Reserve is the story of how private landowners, public entities, and private conservation organizations came together to save the heritage of this land. The Reserve encompasses a 5800-acre area where more than 3,300 acres of natural areas and farmland have been preserved. It is the blending of private land with public open space, a place vital for wildlife habitat as well as a place for people to enjoy.

Conserve Lake County's roots are in the Liberty Prairie Reserve. Our organization started in 1995 as a way to defend, expand, and steward this priceless piece of Lake County. Today, the Liberty Prairie Reserve remains a very important part of what we do. We continue to work with a community of partners to preserve more of it's landscapes, restore woodlands, wetlands, and prairies. and improve farming practices that affect the health of our land and water.

lpr-cranesLiberty Prairie Reserve Community

The Liberty Prairie Reserve is a 5,800-acre area in the heart of Lake County. Over 3,300 acres of beautiful, rural landscape has been preserved through the collective efforts of private landowners, public entities, conservation-oriented businesses, and non-profit organizations like the Liberty Prairie Conservancy. These partners continue to collaborate to restore and steward land within the Reserve.

  • PRIVATE LANDOWNERS
    Private landowners have preserved hundreds of acres of open land through conservation easement and land donations as well as land sales to conservation organizations.
  • LIBERTYVILLE TOWNSHIP
    A champion for open space, the township owns and manages 760 acres in the Reserve and also maintains four miles of regional trail.
  • LAKE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT
    The Almond Marsh and Independence Grove Forest Preserves are some of the key ecological and recreational resources of the Reserve.
  • ILLINOIS DNR
    The IDNR has dedicated three Illinois Nature Preserves within the Reserve in order to protect rare habitats.
  • OPENLANDS
    Like Conserve Lake County, OpenLands preserves private land through conservation easements. 
  • TRAILS
    Through cooperative efforts between the Lake County Forest Preserve District, Libertyville Township, and the Village of Grayslake, the trails of the Reserve will be part of a 72-mile trail system.
  • CASEY FARM
    Conserve Lake County, in partnership with Libertyville Township and the Forest Preserve District, purchased Casey Farm in 2007 to prevent development. The trail connection to Independence Grove through Casey Farm is scheduled to be completed by 2013.
  • PRAIRIE CROSSING
    This conservation community features extensive natural habitats, organic farms, community resources like the Byron Colby Barn, and a trail system.
  • DUCKS UNLIMITED
    Grants from Ducks Unlimited are helping to preserve and restore land in the Reserve.
  • MERIT CLUB GOLF COURSE
    This privately-owned golf club is protected by a conservation easement and managed with ecology in mind.