Detailed Information:
The Heritage Alliance is working with The Conservation Foundation, other organizations and individuals to persuade Good Samaritan Hospital to change the proposed location for a new Wellness Center that is planned at the extreme north end of the hospital campus. The hospital's proposed site would clear cut over 8 acres of forest, sacrificing over 300 mature oak, hickory and other trees that are contiguous to the publicly-owned oak savanna in Lyman Woods. This northerly location requires extensive regrading of existing land contours. It also inhibits access to the new Center by hospital employees and other clients. To improve the Center's effectiveness, to manage storm water better, to save trees and to minimize the impact of development on Lyman Woods, we are urging hospital officials to reposition the Center closer to the existing hospital building.Lyman Woods Forest Preserve is a 135-acre Chicago Wilderness with a rich variety of habitats - glacial kames, woods, fields, marsh, and upland savanna. Over 180 birds species and over 310 native plants have been recorded in the Lyman Woods Wilderness area. Public agencies have spent more than $ 14 Million protecting Lyman Woods. Good Samaritan Hospital, part of the Advocate Health Care network, is a principal health care facility in southeast DuPage County and the largest single employer in the Village of Downers Grove. The proposed construction of a large Wellness Center at the extreme north end of the Hospital Campus would sacrifice over 300 mature oak, hickory and other trees. Experts say that destroying over 8 acres of forest next to the publicly-owned loam-soil oak savanna endangers survival of the best feature of Lyman Woods. The far northerly location also reduces accessibility to this new Center by hospital employees and other clients. By working together, we can save trees, improve the Center's effectiveness, manage storm water better and reduce the impact of development on the Lyman Woods ecosystem.
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