With a little help, the Bartlett Park District has stepped up to save the short-lived life of the James “Pate” Phillip State Park.
The Park District entered a five-year operating agreement with the DuPage County Forest Preserve and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Tuesday.
The three entities will share park maintenance and funding responsibilities, which will allow the Bartlett park to continue its operations.
Funding for Pate Park ceased in 2005, after the state could not afford to support the operation of the park’s visitor center, said Mike Palazzetti, the director for the office of land management for the DuPage County Forest Preserve.
“Money got tighter, and the funding just wasn’t coming forward,” Palazzetti said.
The state had provided the forest preserve with a $1 million grant to maintain the visitor center, which gives an informative history lesson of the land. The park was farmed for years, but is restoring its original prairie and woodlands.
When the money ran out, the Bartlett Park District volunteered to continue operating the newly opened visitor center in June 2006. The new agreement officially allows the Park District to continue it’s responsibilities.
Brent Manning, the executive director for the DuPage County Forest Preserve, gives three reasons why the agreement is significant.
“For the value of open land, natural resource education, and for the purpose and reflection,” said Manning.
