Science & Nature
DuPage County Forest Preserve District the Latest to Put Funding Increase Referendum on the Ballot
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County maintains 175 miles of trails, including this path at Waterfall Glen. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
You can’t put a price on a day spent in nature. Or can you?
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is asking voters to approve a 0.035% increase in property taxes when they head to the polls on Nov. 5. It’s the first such request from the district since 2006.
In that time, the annual number of visitors to the district’s 60 preserves has increased more than 80% to 5.5 million people, according to the district. Most of that growth has come since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic sent people flocking to the great outdoors.
If the tax referendum is approved, the district will have the funds to acquire more land should it become available, and it will have the resources to keep pace with the rising costs associated with conservation, recreation and restoration.
The district has, for example, undertaken the restoration of 8,500 acres, or close to one-third of the 26,000 acres held by the district. The cost of restoration, officials said, has grown from $4,000 per acre in 2006 to $12,600 in 2024.
Currently, the district receives $1.50 for every $100 that DuPage County property owners pay in real estate tax. Under the increase, that amount would be $1.90. For a property valued at $300,000, the added tax would be approximately $35 per year.
In 2022, Cook County voters overwhelmingly approved a 0.025% funding increase for their forest preserve district.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
