A Decade of Progress: Lake County Forest Preserve District

(from The Daily Herald and their newspaper website)

In its first meeting of the new year, the Lake County Forest Preserve District's land preservation and acquisition committee on Thursday reviewed the purchases and improvements officials have made over the past decade.

The report was impressive, with more than 6,500 acres purchased and $219 million spent since 1999.

Here's a closer look at those acquisitions, by the numbers.

•16: New preserves established

•10: Preserves opened to the public

•$33,000: Average price, per acre, of land purchased

•$15 million: Amount of land grants the district has received from the state for those purchases

•2001: The busiest year for land acquisition during this time frame, with an estimated 1,600 acres added

•3.5 million: Annual visits to district properties

•26,892: Total acreage protected by the district*

•56: Total preserves*

*As of Thursday

Source: Lake County Forest Preserve District