What's Behind the Fence? Get a Peek at Horner Park's Riverbank Restoration

IRVING PARK — The Horner Park riverbank restoration project was the subject of highly public protests in 2013 — remember "holocaust on the trees" — but the actual work on the shoreline, under way since early 2014, has taken place largely out of view.

^{The riverbank restoration is typically only viewed from afar, seen here from the Montrose Avenue bridge. The untouched wooded area along the bank was left intact as a possible heron nesting site. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

Access to the area, normally restricted to protect plantings from being trampled, was opened up Saturday during tours conducted as part of Horner Fest.

DNAinfo tagged along on one of the walks, led by Brook Herman, restoration ecologist with the Army Corps of Engineers.

^{One of the restoration project's goals is to bring people closer the river. Walking paths like this, once open outside of special tours, will accomplish that mission. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

What did we see?

Not a whole lot, as was to be expected.

The restoration project is only in the second year of a five-year process. Year one involved excavating and grading 2,600 feet of shoreline, which was nearly vertical in some places. Herman explained that the steepness of the slope, when combined with gravity, had caused trees to continually fall over and the resulting uprooting had led to erosion.

Year two has been about introducing the native trees, shrubs, grasses and other plants aimed at stabilizing the riverbank.

^{The difference between the old riverbank — choked with invasive species — and the new, excavated and planted with just-sprouting natives. This wooded area was preserved to protect a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Deep Tunnel access point. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

Herman noted that hundreds of pounds of native seeds had been planted and were waiting on hot weather to germinate. She'd also ordered scores of plant "plugs" (apparently the pros' term for seedlings) to fill in greenery quicker.

Members of the tour group would need to use their imaginations to picture a landscape lush with several varieties of milkweed (particularly good for monarch butterflies), wild rye, sedges (a popular lawn replacement), prairie dropseed (great for garden borders), wild ginger, buttonbush (loves wetlands) and anemone.

"We're using our warrior species" to put down deep and sturdy roots and absorb fluctuations in river levels, Herman said.

^{This buttonbush, which loves wet areas like riverbanks, is one of the new plantings in Horner Park. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

More readily identifiable were the dozens of mature trees saved from the buzz saw after 2013's protests.

The original thinking behind the $6 million restoration — 65 percent funded by the Army Corps, 35 percent by the Chicago Park District — was to create an extremely gentle slope connecting Horner Park to the river. Trees well upland were slated for removal as part of this process, sparking community outcry.

A compromise was reached, and though the new bank is steeper than initially planned, Herman said, "I'm glad we listened. I'm glad we adjusted."

^{Brook Herman points to the dozens of mature trees in Horner Park's upland area, saved by public protest from the buzz saw. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

One unexpected surprise construction crews encountered during excavation was the discovery of a naturally occurring upswelling of groundwater at one point along the bank.

"It shot out like hydrant," Herman said.

The feature was incorporated into the project, with the water being directed back into the river.

Herman also pointed out the offshore fences, which had some tour members scratching their heads.

It seems humans aren't the only threat to the still fragile restoration, which stretches along the bank from Montrose Avenue to Irving Park Road. Common carp, abundant in the river, are known to root out young plants.

"They have decimated entire wetland areas," she said.

^{An upswelling of groundwater, which looks like a separate stream, was unexpected encountered during excavation and incorporated into the restoration. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

Aside from tours like Saturday's, the restoration area is likely to remain off limits through at least year four, Herman said.

If plants are well-established at that point, fencing will be removed, but if foliage needs more time to acclimate, their welfare takes precedence.

^{Scores of plants, awaiting their new home in Horner Park. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

^{Folks best get used to this sign — it's likely to remain in place for the next two to three years. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

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