Lake Carina is one of county's best-kept secrets
The Lake County Forest Preserve has a real gem of a tiny preserve just outside Gurnee called Lake Carina, located on Route 21.
For years, fisherman would hike in to get northern pike and bass. Some young people who are older now will remember it was a good out-of-the-way place to party.
(News-Sun file)
But that's not why the small stream flowing through the property is called Stoneroller Creek. It's actually named after a small fish called central stoneroller. They actually got their name because in April, the males make nests by moving gravel around with their nose.
They are a brownish-olive with a brassy luster above and silvery to white beneath, with a definite arch in back. It eats algae and bottom ooze and can sometimes grow up to seven inches in length. They prefer clean streams throughout the Mississippi River watershed.
Their stream in Gurnee just got cleaner after the forest preserve did a $223,000 makeover. You can actually see the stream from Route 21 and, when it rains, you can actually see white water as the increased flow of water races over the riffles.
A riffle is a rise of rock that makes the water boil and it creates a pool further downstream. The white water action actually helps infuse more oxygen into the water. Restoration ecologist Debbie Maurer said they improved on some pre-existing riffles and built new ones.
"There was still some good quality gravel habitat," she said, so they weren't starting from scratch. Different fish use different habitat in the stream during different times of their development.
Before the improvements there was a lot of erosion, and therefore a lot of sediment cascading down into a small pond. The river exits the pond and cuts its way across private property and then flows into the Des Plaines River. The restoration work will mean better water flowing into the river.
Maurer said they did a fish survey above the pond and found 231 fish, including the stoneroller, fantail darters, spot fin shiner, Johnny darter, black stripe top minnow, pumpkin seed, blue gill, large mouth bass, creek chubs and bluntnose minnow.
I was kind of shocked when she said that the creek's headwaters are actually three miles up north near Gurnee Mills. It goes through the cemetery, Tri-state Business Park and some neighborhoods before making it to the forest preserve.
I had always believed the stream was from the Heather Ridge development, although part of that may drain into it at some point, she said.
This year, Lake Carina is on the list of Hike Lake County locations. It has a one-mile mowed trail around the lake. It is also home to one of the few handicapped accessible fishing piers. The 23-acre lake is stocked by the state with bluegill, northern pike, largemouth bass, perch, and white crappie.
Birdwatchers may find belted kingfishers, eastern kingbirds, yellow warblers, northern orioles and several types of herons.
Don't be surprised if you pull up and there are a bunch of cars in the lot. It apparently has become a popular place for outdoor types.
Marcus fitted a small rental property with a green roof, gravel grass, rain gardens, rain barrels, porous pavement, a bioswale and a cistern. One drop at a time, this pilot project is demonstrating how homeowners can address sustainable and responsible treatment of rain water.
Learn more at Web site www.delafleur.com.
Cost is $35 for members of the Liberty Prairie Conservancy and $45 for non-members (who become members for the year).
The ravines protect some of the region's rarest native habitat, said Ken Klick, a senior restoration ecologist with the Lake County Forest Preserves.
He will provide an overview of the distinctive geologic forces that create our ravines, the unique plants and animals that flourish here, how urbanization affects these ravines, and how the Lake County Forest Preserves and others are restoring these one-of-a-kind habitats of our region.
