A new study suggests Chicago-area forest preserve districts could face a funding crunch in the future.

An advocacy group called the Openlands Project says regional forest preserve districts do a decent job of maintaining their park spaces, but the districts may be hard pressed to acquire new land.

Director Jerry Adelmann says land prices have skyrocketed in recent years.

“With limited resources available from the state and federal government, it puts tremendous amounts of pressure on these county units of government. They just don’t have adequate capital, really, to meet that challenge,” Adelmann says.

Adelmann says the news isn’t all bad for preserve administrators. Voters in several counties approved bond drives to shore up district budgets. He says districts’ credibility is on the line and they need to make good use of those investments.