Powderhorn encompasses a vast tract of land, owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, on the far southeast side of Chicago. It’s a stocked lake with fishers all year round, an award-winning remnant dune and swale habitat,

a to-be-acquired industrial lot with rail tankers, a railroad track lined with Phragmites, and disused land in a residential district made into an urban sponge that captures rainwater and drains it in to the lake. Altogether, it makes a really nice urban greenspace

that works with the land and hydrology and habitats, and enhances what they already are (minus some invasive species and plus some light mowing). Check out this terrific Storymap about the most recent restoration project!

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We saw lots of evidence of beavers!

and other wildlife — like this osprey on a nest on a human-constructed osprey tower!