LOCATION

Cook County, Illinois

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Baker's Lake Heronry Reconstruction Project is the largest complete heronry reconstruction in the Midwest.  Located on a 0.10-acre island in the middle of scenic Baker's Lake in Barrington, Illinois, the heronry is owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, and the City of Barrington.  The heronry is home to a breeding colony of the great blue herons, great egerts, double-crested cormorants, and black- crowned night herons.  Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. guided the project from conception through construction.  CBBEL's focus was to create a new aerial artificial nesting structures that would maintain biodiversity, while opening up the ground level to attract night heroes.  Utility pole-based structures were determined to be the most practical support structure for the nest platforms per structure.  This challenging site was developed in conjunction with several outside groups and incorporated hydrology, geotechnical, structural and environmental components. Leading the efforts in the planning and design were Robert Sliwinski, Paul Wirth, and John Henik. Dan Crosson was responsible for implementation and construction observation. The rookery construction was completed by Landscaping Resources.