Yesterday, Prairie Rivers Network attended a heated, public informational meeting on a proposed hog farm in Marshall County. We attended because we were asked to by a group of local residents who don’t want to live near what they call a “hog factory.” If approved for construction, the hog farm will house almost 20,000 hogs […]
Farm Bill Passes with Important Conservation Requirement
Finally, we have a federal Farm Bill! President Obama signed the long-awaited bill into law on February 7, bringing an end to a multi-year effort to pass the legislation. And fortunately, the environmental community has something to celebrate: conservation compliance was re-linked to federal crop insurance subsidies! The relinkage of conservation compliance to crop insurance […]
Tell the Corps to stop causing floods on the Mississippi River
The Army Corps of Engineers has been wrestling with the Mississippi River for over a century in an attempt to train and constrain the river to support commercial navigation. This practice is readily apparent along the Middle Mississippi River, a 190 mile stretch between the Missouri and Ohio River that is littered with structures to tame […]
Watch Out, World! Our River Action Team is Ready for Action!
On Saturday, January 25, Prairie Rivers Network held the first training session for our new River Action Team. Twenty-nine of our members and supporters attended the training on how to lobby local and state officials on environmental issues. We were thrilled by the enthusiasm expressed by the team members, who will be on our action […]
City of Danville to restore habitat and safety through dam removals
Last week, Danville City Council voted to remove two dams, the Ellsworth Park Dam and the Danville Dam, in the Vermilion River system. They now join the ranks of other cities throughout Illinois that have removed or modified defunct dams to improve safety and enhance aquatic habitat. Funding for this removal comes from Governor Quinn’s […]
