CCAS Supports Middle Fork Dark Sky Trail

The Milky Way over Middle Fork Forest Preserve. Photo by Zongnan Bao on Unsplash.

The Champaign County Audubon Society (CCAS) Board voted this week to donate $250 to the Forest Preserve Friends Foundation in support of the creation of a new Dark Sky Trail at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, Illinois’ first and only International Dark Sky Park.

According to the Champaign County Forest Preserve District, the new trail will “support tourism, recreation, and education in Champaign County. The new Dark Sky Trail will be a mile-long, accessible path in an open, upland area. Trail nodes will present opportunities for visitors to hang out with friends and family with clear views of the night sky. This will be the first trail at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve with a paved section. Daytime visitors will be treated to an immersive prairie experience, with great opportunities to watch wildlife, enjoy the scenery or soak up the sun at trail nodes. A new observatory, a small metal structure containing a sliding roof, will make it easier to view the stars."

CCAS encourages its members to learn more and consider donating themselves by visiting https://www.ccfpd.org/illinois-forest-preserves/foundation