What Forest Preserve District of Kane County does

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is a unit of local government established in 1925 under Illinois law, headquartered in Geneva, Illinois. It is tasked with acquiring, holding, and maintaining lands within Kane County for the conservation of natural and historic resources, habitats, flora, and fauna, and for environmental education, recreation, and public well-being. The District manages over 23,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairies across multiple preserve locations, with preserves open daily from sunrise to sunset.

The District's service portfolio spans outdoor recreation, environmental education, and conservation programming. Core offerings include camping facilities, fishing clinics (operated in partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources), hiking, biking and equestrian trails, golf courses, picnic shelters and rental facilities, horseback riding, and dedicated facilities such as the recently opened Arrowwood Point Archery Complex in Elburn. Educational programming is delivered through a Nature Center, school field trips, public nature programs, and a newsletter ("The TreeLine"). In December 2025, the District reintroduced American bison to Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve through a three-way partnership with the American Indian Center of Chicago and Ruhter Bison — the first bison presence on Kane County prairie in over 200 years. Other operational programs include an annual deer management application cycle and a recurring "Rusty Rodeo" invasive species removal event.

The District is funded primarily through property taxes rather than commercial revenue, and operates as a non-trading government entity. Pricing is activity-based and modest in scale (e.g., kayak programs at $89/person including equipment, archery permits on a daily or annual basis, golf outing foursomes at $450–$500). Distribution is direct-to-public through preserve locations, the kaneforest.com website, online registration, email, and phone. The affiliated Kane Forest Preserve Foundation supports the District via private fundraising, including the annual Golf Outing event benefiting Nature Play Space development at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve. No proprietary technology platforms, AI/ML systems, or commercial software products are referenced in available sources.

Name

Forest Preserve District of Kane County

Legal name

Forest Preserve District of Kane County

Website

https://kaneforest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is a 1925-established local government agency that conserves and operates over 23,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairies across Kane County, Illinois, providing outdoor recreation, environmental education, and habitat restoration programs to county residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Parks and Recreation Services

NAICS

Administration of Conservation Programs (92412), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Parks, Recreation & Protected Areas Administration (BPAIAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife, Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation Administration (BPAIAMAG), Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Forest preserve management
• Outdoor recreation services
• Environmental education programs
• Wildlife habitat conservation
• Public park operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County manages more than 23,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairies across Kane County, Illinois for conservation, public recreation, and environmental education. It operates forest preserves, dedicated recreation facilities (archery complex, camping, fishing, golf, trails for hiking/biking/horseback riding), educational programs at the Nature Center and schools, picnic shelters and rental facilities, and special conservation programs including bison reintroduction and deer management.

Product overview

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County operates a network of nature preserves and recreation facilities across Kane County, Illinois. The District's core offering consists of over 23,000 acres of protected woodlands, wetlands, and prairies preserved since 1925 for conservation, recreation, and environmental education. The portfolio includes dedicated facilities such as Arrowwood Point Archery Complex (the District's first archery facility), multiple camping areas, fishing sites, golf courses, and extensive trail systems for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Educational programming is delivered through the Nature Center, school field trips, and public nature programs. The District also manages cultural/historic sites, picnic shelters, rental facilities, and special programs including a deer management program and bison reintroduction at Burlington Prairie. The District partners with organizations like the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, American Indian Center of Chicago, and local park districts for programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forest Preserves The District's main offering comprising over 23,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairies across Kane County, Illinois, preserved and maintained for conservation, recreation, and environmental education since 1925. Open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset.
• Arrowwood Point Archery Complex

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Indian Center of Chicago (AIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Three-way partnership for bison reintroduction program. AIC serves as steward of the bison animals at Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve, returning American bison to Kane County tallgrass prairie for the first time in over 200 years. The District provides land ownership while AIC provides cultural and ecological stewardship.
• Ruhter BisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerd manager for the bison reintroduction program at Burlington Prairie, working in partnership with the District and American Indian Center of Chicago to manage the returning bison population.
• Kane Forest Preserve FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNon-profit foundation supporting the District through fundraising, including the annual Golf Outing event to fund Nature Play Space development at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve.
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Urban and Community Fishing Program, providing fishing instruction and programming at Lake Patterson through the Open Fishing Clinics.
• St. Charles Park DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Rusty Rodeo invasive species removal program, collaborating on community education and hands-on conservation activities.
• Fox Valley Park DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Rusty Rodeo invasive species removal program, collaborating on community education and hands-on conservation activities.
• Friends of the FoxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Rusty Rodeo invasive species removal program, supporting conservation of local waterways.

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Openlands: Regional (Chicago-area) conservation nonprofit focused on land protection, conservation policy, and outdoor access; complementary rather than directly competing with the District.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. National Park Service: Federal conservation and recreation operator with overlapping mission (preservation, public access, environmental education) across a much larger geographic and programmatic portfolio.
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources: State-level natural resource agency that funds, regulates, and partners with county forest preserve districts (e.g., Urban & Community Fishing Program) and operates a much broader portfolio including state parks.

Others

• The Nature Conservancy (Illinois Chapter): Nonprofit conservation organization with adjacent mission in land preservation, ecological restoration, and partnership-based stewardship relevant to the District's conservation work.
• Friends of the Fox River: Local watershed conservation partner collaborating with the District on the Rusty Rodeo invasive species program and similar Fox River stewardship initiatives.

Direct peers

• Will County Forest Preserve District: Adjacent Illinois county forest preserve district with comparable preserve acreage, programming, and educational mission, making it a direct institutional peer.
• Lake County Forest Preserves: Another Illinois county-level forest preserve district providing outdoor recreation, environmental education, and habitat management across a similar suburban-Chicago footprint and statutory charter.
• Forest Preserves of Cook County: Larger Illinois forest preserve district that also manages tens of thousands of acres of conservation land and recreation amenities (trails, camping, equestrian, nature centers) for a suburban Chicago population comparable to Kane County's.
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County: Neighboring Illinois forest preserve district operating under the same state-level statutory framework and offering essentially the same mix of preserved lands, education programs, and fee-based recreation as Kane County.
• McHenry County Conservation District: Conservation district in northern Illinois delivering nature preserves, trails, and education programming under a comparable county-level public mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@forestpreserve
• Xx.com/forestpreserve
• Facebookfacebook.com/forestpreserve
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forest-preserve-district-of-kane-county-geneva-il

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forest Preserve District of Kane County