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Lake County Forest Preserve District officials have scrapped plans to build a 3.8-mile equestrian trail through Lakewood Forest Preserve as part of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Preservationists had objected to the plan, fearing that it would lead to the destruction of dozens of 200-year-old oak trees.

After district officials said Thursday that they will look for another site within Lakewood, those opposed to the Olympicequestrian-trail plan continued their criticism of the district for using the forest preserves for sporting events.

"The taxpayers supported open-space referendums because we thought the district would preserve the land for future generations of wildlife and for us -- not for athletic events," said Sheilah Watson, a member of Preserve Lakewood, a citizens group fighting against the Olympic plan. "This plan is setting a bad precedent."

It won't be known until 2009 whether the U.S. Olympic bid will be approved over finalists from Brazil and other countries, but planning has been under way for months in an effort to land the event in the Chicago area.

During a recent planning session, Olympic equestrian experts from the Chicago 2016 Olympic committee told district officials that the proposed site for the cross-country trail was exceptionally wooded, compared with typical cross-country horse trails. The proposed path followed a horse trail already at the forest preserve near Wauconda.

In a memo e-mailed Tuesday to the district's commissioners, Tom Hahn, the district's executive director, said the decision to find a new trail site was made after Olympic planners advised that cross-country events normally are held in open fields to make spectator viewing easier and to help avoid injury to horses and riders.

"Based upon our discussions from last week, we have now removed the cross-country course from its location on the plan and will evaluate other layouts with a more open landscape," Hahn said in the memo, which ended up in the hands of opponents of the Olympic proposal.

Watson and others have urged district officials to consider a recent offer from Tim Smith to hold the events on property he owns in Old Mill Creek near Gurnee.

District officials said the offer would be considered if Smith agreed to donate the land to the district for future uses.

Lakewood, the district's largest preserve at 2,748 acres, is home to 17 endangered species in its pristine natural areas, including a 70-acre bog that is a national natural landmark. The preserve, near Illinois Highway 176 and Fairfield Road, also contains Broberg Marsh, one of the county's prime breeding areas for birds, including the endangered sandhill crane.

The preserve's habitat has made it a favorite spot of naturalists who fear the Olympics proposal will forever damage the environment. District officials counter that Lakewood is big enough to host the Olympics without damaging its natural amenities.

District President Bonnie Thomson Carter (R-Ingleside) said Thursday that officials never considered the possibility of cutting down trees to make way for the cross-country equestrian trail.

"That's not what the board is interested in doing," Carter said.

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