When people come together, good things happen. Over the past year, with support from Illinois Clean Energy and Community Foundation, Prairie Rivers Network has convened several organizations who seek to restore and protect the rare and special habitats of the Illinois River system. While we continue to help identify conservation opportunities and priorities, our efforts […]
Sidney train leak incident part of a growing and concerning national problem
The latest train incident causing a spill of petroleum products into an Illinois waterway happened in the small village of Sidney. Last Saturday, Sidney residents smelled diesel fuel and then saw it in the creek that drains into the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River in eastern Champaign County. The source was a Union Pacific train that […]
Congress Moving to Scrap Community Protections, Giving Polluters Free Pass on Coal Ash Dumping
Just three months (and only 42 working days) after EPA signed its first-ever coal ash rule, Representative McKinley (R-WV) has introduced a bill that guts the new EPA rule and protects the polluters who finance his campaigns. The bill will permanently give polluters a free pass to dump coal ash (the second largest industrial waste stream […]
A Big Buzz for Pollinators!
Over 150 people attended our public panel on pollinators, held January 22 in Champaign! We were thrilled by the turnout and the resounding public interest in helping our pollinator friends. Special thanks to our partners at the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District and University of Illinois Extension for helping make this event possible. […]
Victory! Grassroots Group Halts Coal Mine
Canton-area residents celebrated yesterday after winning an eight-year battle to halt the proposed North Canton coal strip mine – successfully protecting Fulton County communities and their right to clean water. On January 16th Capital Resources Development Company, LLC asked the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (Illinois DNR) to withdraw its permit application for the mine, […]
