Messenger Woods Nature Preserve Wetland Mitigation

Will County, Illinois

This project included wetland restoration and enhancement planning of 115 acres of dedicated nature preserve buffer within Messenger Woods Nature Preserve.
V3 evaluated the existing wetland and soil conditions to assess the feasibility of restoring or enhancing on-site wetlands.
To determine the potential for wetland restoration, V3 conducted a wetland delineation, classified and mapped the extent and location of hydric soils and completed a hydrologic and hydraulic site assessment.
The analysis resulted in V3 preparing a concept wetland restoration plan for review by OpenLands, the Forest Preserve District of Will County and the USACE.
V3 constructed, planted and monitored this project which resulted in the restoration and enhancement of 32 acres of wetland and 53 acres of upland prairie, through drain tile removal, water control installation and berming/grading to capture surface runoff.
The Messenger Wood wetland mitigation was monitored from 2009-2014 and all performance standards were met. Sign off was received from the USACE on April 16, 2015.