In a rare find, freshwater shrimp officially known as Mississippi grass shrimp have been found in the Des Plaines River. Shrimp are an indicator of cleaner water systems, so it’s a good sign that the Des Plaines River’s aquatic habitats are improving. You can see from the photo below why they are also known as glass shrimp. This is the first documentation of this species in Lake County.
Prairie Rivers Network also gets a mention in the same article for our joint statement with the Sierra Club and Openlands criticizing the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to grant a wastewater discharge permit to Mississippi Sand, LLC. The permit would allow Mississippi Sand to discharge up to 5.1 million gallons a day of wastewater from its planned mining operation adjacent to Starved Rock State Park, into Horseshoe Creek, which flows through the park. Introducing that much water will likely cause damage to Horseshoe Creek and destroy its low-flow ecosystem.
This decision enables the degradation of the irreplaceable natural and recreational value of Starved Rock. In particular, IEPA’s granting the permit without holding a public hearing to listen and to respond directly to numerous public concerns about the mining operation’s environmental and economic impacts is simply inadequate. Read our full statement here and see our previous article about this issue.
Read the full article in the Lake County Sun-Times. (pdf) Share this story!
