WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Although county lines parcel out the southern shore of Lake Michigan like garden plots, the environmental issues that unify people from Michigan City, Ind. to Chicago do not respect political boundaries.

While the project is undoubtedly ambitious, and unique in a few ways, the “open space” project is not exactly that. After all, the initial project area (the “Calumet Core”) is home to nearly half a million people, as well as 2,000 acres of industrial land.

The far south side forest preserves’ seclusion and proximity to areas troubled by gang activity once made them ideal dumping grounds for bodies. And a dense underbrush of white poplar, buckthorn and purple loosestrife, all invasive species, obscured any view of the interior from the road.

Federal and state agencies have committed $6.8 million to fund restoration and recreation programs through the Millennium Reserve Initiative.

The money will help knit together sensitive ecosystems in the Calumet region, where a contaminated river and an abundance of invasive species have long threatened biodiversity in the Chicago region.