Nests in the rookery of the newly designated Lotus Country Conservation Preserve. (Courtesy of Lake County Forest Preserves)

The largest heron and egret rookery in Lake County is about to come under new management.

The birds make their home in Antioch Township, on land that’s near a number of forest preserves and state parks, but isn’t itself protected.

Until now.

The Lake County Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners recently approved the purchase of approximately 41 acres known as the “Fogel property,” where the rookery is located. The parcel will be known as the Lotus Country Conservation Preserve.

In addition to the rookery, the property’s important features include wetlands and wooded areas.

The acquisition required a couple of exceptions to standard forest preserve operations. Typically, the board wouldn’t consider buying a property under 100 acres, and the names of new holdings generally end in “forest preserve.”

In the case of the Lotus Country Conservation Preserve, the property’s sensitive ecological features made it “especially worthy of protection and preservation,” according to the resolution adopted by the board of commissioners.

The “conservation preserve” designation indicates the Forest Preserves will own and manage the site not for public access or even passive recreational use — which would damage the ecosystem and disrupt the rookery — but solely to ensure these “essential natural resources remain untouched and protected,” according to a statement from the Forest Preserves.

A map of the new preserve’s location. (Courtesy of Lake County Forest Preserves)

The name Lotus Country hearkens back to an old nickname for the area around the new preserve. In the early 1900s, Lake County was a popular resort destination, and the region’s extensive lotus beds were one of its big draws.

Though the lotus is most often associated with Asia, of the flower’s two species, one is native to North and Central America.

The American, or yellow, lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is found in southern and western central Illinois, with large colonies occurring along the Illinois River. The website Illinois Wildflowers calls American lotus “perhaps the grandest and most imposing native wildflower of wetland areas in Illinois.”

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]