(70 ILCS 810/7) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6410)
Sec. 7.
Any forest preserve district shall
have the power to create forest preserves, and for that purpose shall
have the power to acquire in fee simple or by easements in land, in the manner hereinafter
provided, and hold lands containing one or more natural forests or parts
thereof or land or lands connecting such forests or parts thereof, or
lands capable of being forested, for the purpose of protecting and
preserving the flora, fauna, and scenic beauties within such district,
and to restore, restock, protect and preserve the natural forests and
such lands together with their flora and fauna, as nearly as may be, in
their natural state and condition, for the purpose of the education,
pleasure, and recreation of the public. Lands may be acquired in fee
simple or by easements in land for the consolidation of such preserves into unit areas of size
and form convenient and desirable for public use and economical
maintenance and improvement and when in the judgment of the Board the
public access, use, and enjoyment of such preserves and other purposes
of this Act will be served by connecting any such preserves with
forested ways or links, lands for connecting links of such width,
length, and location as the Board deem necessary or desirable may be
acquired in fee simple or by easements in land and held for such purposes and improved by
forestation, roads, and pathways. Any such district may also acquire
lands in fee simple or by easements in land along or enclosing water courses, drainage ways,
lakes, ponds, planned impoundments or elsewhere which, in the judgment
of its Board are required to store flood waters, or control other
drainage and water conditions, or to recycle secondary treated sewage effluents
or wastewater through the production and sale of agricultural,
silvicultural or aquacultural products, necessary for the preservation
and management of the water resources of the district, provided no
debris, tree, tree limbs, logs, shrubbery, or related growths and
trimmings therefrom shall be deposited in, along, or upon the bank of
any waters and water courses within the State of Illinois or any
tributary thereto where the same shall be liable to be washed into or
deposited along waters and water courses, either by normal or flood
flows, as a result of storms or otherwise, which may in any manner
impede or obstruct the natural flow of such waters and water courses.
Unforested lands adjacent to forest preserves may also be acquired in
fee simple or by easements in land to provide for extension of roads and forested ways around
and by such preserves and for parking space for automobiles and other
facilities not requiring forested areas but incidental to the use and
protection thereof. All work done in or along any water course shall be
done in accordance with the provisions of "An Act in relation to the
regulation of the rivers, lakes, and streams of the State of Illinois,"
approved June 10, 1911, as heretofore and hereafter amended, insofar as
such Act may be applicable.
(Source: P.A. 98-281, eff. 8-9-13.)
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