Restoration Work Continues In Lemont Quarries

LEMONT, IL — The CITGO Lemont Refinery, in partnership with The Conservation Foundation and the Village of Lemont, continued their environmental restoration project in the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area this past October. CITGO said volunteers worked together to remove invasive plant species in visible areas by trimming trees and removing invasive brush.

The Heritage Quarries Recreation Area is located half a mile east of downtown Lemont. According to CITGO, the ecological restoration of the HQRA allows Illinois residents to continue enjoying the recreational grounds, and gives Lemont High School teachers and students the opportunity to explore the quarries through class projects.

“The HQRA project is a great example of the kind of community-based conservation work that we do. Through CITGO’s support, the area looks and feels better than it did before. And this work couldn’t be done without strong partnerships – the volunteers have worked hard to make it a better place,” Dan Lobbes, The Conservation Foundation Director of Land Protection, said in a release.

According to Jim Cristman, Vice President and General Manager of the CITGO Lemont Refinery, CITGO is dedicated to preserving natural habitats, which is why the Lemont Refinery has been funding semiannual projects within the HQRA since fall of 2014. CITGO said as part of its “Caring for Our Environment” initiative, CITGO Lemont launched a restoration project in the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area in 2014 with the goal of restoring the natural habitat so that residents could continue to enjoy the recreational grounds. Volunteers continue to come together every fall to trim trees and remove invasive brush, and then revisit again in the spring to plant native seeds, trees, and plugs.

“CITGO Lemont is privileged to help steward treasurable natural habitats in the communities where we operate like the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area. It has been rewarding, both for our refinery volunteers and community residents to watch the restoration work over the years. People are once again enjoying all that the HQRA has to offer,” Cristman said in a release.

Photo provided by CITGO Lemont Refinery.