This is a re-post / link to a blog I follow. Several people in my field from the Chicago/Illinois-area have been raising the alarm about a high-quality prairie about to be destroyed in Rockford, IL. In this case it is an airport expansion by the local government, I believe to accommodate an increase in Amazon.com orders.
Stephen Packard writes:
So far as I can determine, no public agency in Illinois has ever destroyed an area of comparable importance to Bell Bowl Prairie since natural areas were defined and mapped by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory in 1977.
Despite some claims, a Grade A prairie cannot be moved and stay a Grade A prairie – especially one growing from a unique gravel deposit and with the hydrology present here.
This ecosystem has developed its richness and complexity over the last 18,000 years – since the retreat of the last glacier. If it can be saved and dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve, it will be thriving 100 years from now, long after airports have been replaced by something better. One hundred years is just a blip in the history of this prairie.
For full details, read Bell Bowl Prairie Update.
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