Help Choose The Top Three Forest Preserve Photo Contest Winners

Now is the time to help choose the best of the best from the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s 2019 Preserve the Moment photo contest.

Online voting began on Friday, Jan. 10, and it will conclude at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 17. Photo contest fans will determine the top three photos from nine finalist by liking or commenting on their favorites via the Forest Preserve’s Facebook page.

Each like or comment counts as one vote. Participants may vote for as many photos as they like, and they can vote more than once by clicking “like” and leaving a comment under their favorite photos. But only one comment per person per photo will count in the vote tally.

The top three vote-getters will win gift cards in the amounts of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. Contest prizes are made possible through the generous support of The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Here are the nine finalists in chronological order along with a short description of each photo:

• April: A colorful spring landscape at Rock Run Preserve in Joliet taken by Kevin Kuchler of Joliet.
• May: A great blue heron with a northern water snake in its mouth at Rock Run Rookery Preserve in Joliet taken by Eileen Capodice of Minooka.
• June: A steely eyed red-tailed hawk tracking potential prey at Veterans Woods in Romeoville taken by Robert Schwaan of Lemont.
• July: A red milkweed beetle nestled in a milkweed leaf at Whalon Lake in Naperville taken by Bolingbrook resident Greg Johnson.
• August: A snail on the trail at Rock Run Rookery Preserve taken by Mark Hanna of Romeoville.
• September: A colorful sunset photo at Lake Renwick Heron Rookery Nature Preserve in Plainfield taken by Michelle Wendling of Joliet.
• October: A deer nestled in fall foliage at Rock Run Rookery Preserve taken by Frank Rink of Shorewood.
• November: A great blue heron fluttering feet first into the water at Colvin Grove Preserve in Joliet taken by Mark Rupsis of Joliet.
• December: A snake sunbathing at Sauk Trail Reservoir in Frankfort taken by Jacob Dalen of Manhattan.

Forest Preserve judges chose the nine monthly finalists from among 828 photo submissions during the course of the contest, which began April 1 and concluded Dec. 31. All of the contest submissions can be viewed on the District's Flickr page.

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.