Photo from It’s Our River Day Brochure

It’s Our River Day is a day dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation for the rivers of Illinois through the planning of activities and events and by cultivating education, recreation and conservation. It’s Our River Day takes place each year on the third Saturday in September. 

Education, recreation and conservation are important to the health of our rivers. They are interconnected like a river within its ecosystem. It is important to keep the history and culture of life along the river alive, to continue to address the threats against its health, and to form new and innovative ways to provide access to the waterways for recreation.

With this in mind, communities and organizations are invited to celebrate your river by offering citizens a chance to contribute to the health of the watershed by providing organized activities and events annually on the third Saturday in September.

 View the official It’s Our River Day brochure (PDF) or regester your event (Word document).

Our paddling members and friends have set us straight on DNR’s proposed Dam Safety Rule, Rule 3703, now pending before the Illinois General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules). We expressed support for the proposed rule in a post last week. The rule would impose a 350-foot exclusion zone around all dangerous dams in order to protect the public safety and prevent the needless drowning deaths that occur in Illinois rivers nearly every year. (Also see our post on the report evaluating costs of improving safety through removal or modification.)

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***Update***

On Friday, June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Another version of the bill will now make its way through the Senate. The legislation will establish a new U.S. energy policy that reduces dependence on foreign oil and builds a new, domestic clean technology manufacturing base to supply wind, solar, and other renewable energy. The bill also takes significant steps toward solving the global warming crisis by limiting carbon pollution.

We feel that this is an historic opportunity for the nation to finally come to terms with our contribution to global warming. Everything we do at the state level, here in Illinois, will depend on our ability as a nation to make cleaner energy. This is the most important piece of legislation in this generation.

Prairie Rivers Network urges you to find out how your Representative voted. Thank those who voted in favor. Ask for an explanation from those who voted against it.

You can look up the votes by representative name:    http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml

Or try the Sierra Club’s tool that uses your home ZIP code:    http://action.sierraclub.org/site/VoteCenter?page=voteInfor&voteId=9605

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ACTION ALERT

Maggie Bruns, Long time supporter of PRN

An improtant message from former PRN volunteer, Maggie Bruns, now working for The League of Conservation Voters.

HEY FOLKS! I need your help on some important legislation!!!! THIS IS HUGE!

You all know I care deeply about protecting this great earth, and as I sit here in DC, we are on the verge of a historic environmental vote on Friday 6/26. My boss has been working on this for over 30 years, and as I hear him say every day “we have never been this close to passing serious climate legislation”. I really need you to tell Representative Tim Johnson [or your Representative] to vote for the HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Securities Act. It will take you about 5 seconds, as I have included the phone numbers, text and email link below. {Continue Reading »}

Recently, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources issued a notice of proposed rules concerning Dam Safety. These rules may affect landowners, businesses, and recreationist along the river; particularly part 3703 of the rules. Part 3703 of the new rules, state that there needs to be mandatory 350′ exclusion Zones around dams. Specifically the “Exclusion Zone” means a segment of the river, beginning 50 feet downstream of a dam and proceeding to a point 300 feet upstream of the dam, that no one is allowed to enter for any purpose, except those purposes exempted by this Part. This zone includes the spillway, gates, piers and other appurtenant dam works that are not designed for the express purpose of general pedestrian access.

These new rules will undoubtedly hinder paddling on many streams, at least for the coming paddling season. And although Prairie Rivers Network feels strongly that people should be able to use and enjoy the river, we also care greatly for everyone’s safety. {Continue Reading »}

The Illinois Dam Safety Report, takes a thorough look at 25 run of river dams on Illinois waterways. A run of river dam is a dam with a height less than 25 feet that spans the width of a river and which during normal flow conditions typically has water flowing over the entire dam. Dams alter wildlife habitat by flooding the stream corridor above the dam and change the natural seasonal fluctuations in water level below. These alterations harm fish and wildlife both above and below the dam.

Not only do dams alter the ecosystem and landscape, but they are also extremely dangerous. Nearly every year in Illinois, people accidentally die because of dams. By getting too close, paddlers, waders, fishermen, and other people enjoying time in their local river can easily get sucked into the current and trapped in the hydraulic effect (boil and backwash) dams create.

Read the full Illinois Dam Safety Report here: Dam safety report part 1 (pdf) and Dam safety report part 2 (pdf).

So please remember, BE ALERT when you are on the river
and stay away from low head dams!

The federally-mandated State Wildlife Action Plans are the first nationwide attempts to focus on preserving the habitat that all wildlife needs for survival. The plans are a major shift away from preserving single species to a strategy that would preserve the habitat necessary to prevent the loss of entire networks of interconnected wildlife.

Illinois’ Wildlife Action Plan identifies 32 Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs), which are unique in regards to topography and wildlife. In some COAs, intense agriculture production will be the main challenge, while in others it may be the existence of waterways that have been heavily modified in a way that has destroyed natural habitat.

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