Banner Marsh HREP, Illinois (Credit: Jerry Milam)

With spring’s longer and warmer days, many of us are getting out to enjoy Illinois’ multitude of  diverse rivers and streams.  These winding  waterways are often the closest, perhaps the only, bit of natural landscape that many Illinois residents have for recreation and rejuvenation.

A few of us might still be stuck inside, scrambling to finish our tax returns. This year, whether you are writing a check to, or waiting for a check from, Uncle Sam, you may wonder how your tax dollars are being spent, and if they are being spent wisely, when it comes to protecting Illinois’ rivers. {Continue Reading »}

Elliot goes to Washington

Earlier this month, Prairie Rivers Network Habitat Conservation Specialist, Elliot Brinkman, traveled to Washington, D.C. to help educate legislators about the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program.

This program provides federal grant funds for projects that benefit wildlife and their habitats and gives priority to species of greatest conservation concern. It is also the primary funding source for states to implement their Wildlife Action Plans. In Illinois, these funds have been used for a number of successful restoration and research projects, many of which assessed and improved the quality of habitats in and along streams and rivers. {Continue Reading »}

We’ve been tracking a terrible bill in the Illinois Senate this spring that would allow irresponsible development in flood-prone areas. It may also make thousands of Illinois residents ineligible for federal flood insurance and disaster relief.

You can help by calling bill sponsor Senator Haine (217.782-5247 or 618.465-4764) and ask him to withdraw Senate Bill 2556. You can also call or write your own state senator and representative and ask them not to vote for SB2556.

Illinois Sierra Club Floodplain Chair, President of American Bottom Conservancy, and Prairie Rivers Network supporter Kathy Andria describes problems with the Bill in a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the 3/21/10 Madison & St. Clair Record. We reprint the text below:

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