The Jack David Mondschine Wildlife Conservation Area
Beautiful land and a place for animals to roam freely were the inspirations for Jenese Busch to donate a tract of land to the Barrington Area Conservation Trust in 2008.
The site, called the Jack David Mondschine Wildlife Conservation Area, lies on the northwest edge of Barrington Hills. Its beautiful ravine with an intermittent stream corridor will now remain exactly as it stands today in perpetuity, thanks to the generous donation in Busch’s father’s name.
Jenese Busch is a spitfire of a woman who dearly love the animals that have found sanctuary around her home and the world at large. As of April 21, 2008, the Jack David Mondschine Wildlife Conservation Area became a privately protected parcel of land held by BACTrust.
Jenese has been working on the preservation of the site for nearly three years. In a recent interview, she expressed her sentiments on the donation:
Q: Why was it important that you protect this land?
A: I am the way I am because of my father, and I wanted to leave something behind with his name on it for the animals.
Q: How do you see this site in the future?
A: I see it as a place where animals can freely come and seek shelter without fear of being injured by human activity.
Q: What were the challenges you faced in this donation?
A: We tried to work with the Village of Barrington Hills and the Park District, but ultimately, my family felt comfortable with the protection that the BACTrust could provide given the restrictions of keeping it private. I love this countryside and I want to know it will be protected.
Q: Would you recommend this process to others?
A: If you have something you want to keep in perpetuity, this is a wonderful thing to do. It is hard to describe how I am filled with a great feeling about what I am doing and about protecting the beauty of this site forever.
The ravine will remain protected as private open space in perpetuity through BACTrust. It is a small sanctuary, but it is a valuable stream corridor that harbors several rare and old species of tress and habitat for a wide range of local wildlife. BACTrust hopes to restore the site to pre-settlement conditions and monitor and record wildlife present.