A $1.2 million purchase by the DeKalb County Forest Preserve has added 300 acres to DeKalb County’s natural landscape.

Terry Hannan, superintendent of the forest preserve, said the land, the Potawatomi Woods Forest Preserve, is located along the Kishwaukee River north of Kirkland.

“People look forward to having places for recreation and to reconnect with the earth,” Hannan said.

The new preserve is adjacent to an older one called MacQueen.

Potawatomi will offer hiking, picnicking and cross-country skiing in the winter. Also, nature studies will take place at the preserve.

Hans Beck, an assistant biology professor at NIU, said he will teach a class in the spring about conservation biology. Part of the class will involve field study and will take place at the Potawatomi reserve.

Beck said this is the largest tract of land available locally for his students to study.

“[Potawatomi] offers a nearby large tract of very diverse natural habitat,” Beck said, “a diverse area of wetlands that aren’t seen in DeKalb County anymore.”

There is no natural vegetation left in DeKalb County, Beck said. Most land is either under payment or disturbed in some way.

Beck said there are nearly a thousand acres in the vicinity of the preserve that are protected and available for study.

Specifically, the class will study oxbow marshes or bends in a river that form pools of water, Beck said. Also, they will study wet sedge meadow or wet prairie areas. “Class, from now on, will be going to this site,” Beck said. “By not putting the burden on the taxpayers … he was able to get donations and grants so DeKalb County wouldn’t have to foot the bill,” Beck said of Hannan.

Hannan said about $900,000 of the money needed purchase the land came from grants and donations from the community and community organizations.

The name of the preserve comes from Potawatomi Native American nation, Hannan said. The majority of area schoolchildren who were asked to pick a name chose Potawatomi.