“Investing In The Nature Of Southwestern Illinois”
Commonfields www.HeartLandsConservancy.org
What’s Inside Mill Creek Restoration Project..... 2 Upper Silver Creek Plan................ 3 Q&A with Mary Vandevord............ 3 People and Places......................4-5
A Quarterly Publication of HeartLands Conservancy
Fall 2014
INVESTING LOCALLY
Become a Member......................... 6 Mill Creek Trek............................... 7 Estate Planning............................. 7 Membership Form......................BC
Directors Robert J. Hilgenbrink, Chair IL Green Economy Network Frank O. Miles, Vice Chair Madison County Community Development Lester Harnetiaux, Secretary Bond County Realtors Ronda Latina, Treasurer Environmental Operations, Inc. William Boardman Firehouse Contracting, LLC Ronald J. Foster, Jr. Schoen, Walton, Telken & Foster Dennis (Denny) Kirkham (Land Owner) Charles Meier Illinois State Representative Robert Nelson Nelson & Nelson Ron O’Connor O’Connor & Partners Cliff Schuette Schuette Seed Company Justin Siegel Deli Star Corporation
Like many of you, I periodically donate to efforts that help protect important, often threatened, habitat somewhere on this planet. Over time my contributions have included wetlands within the prairie pothole region, an ecologically significant section of coastline, and a rainforest that stands to be cleared if immediate action isn’t taken. All great causes. I tip my hat to our counterparts who so elegantly outline the issues, and potential outcomes, should I, we, not take immediate action. My questions today are: do we, as a local community, loosely defined as southwestern Illinois, truly recognize and support our own ecological assets found right here? Is access to the Mississippi River, once the lifeline of the region, still important to us? What about our nearly one million acres of prime farmland, which feeds millions of people? Would it be all right if that number shrunk to 100,000 acres? And how about our highest quality ecological sites, such as Mill Creek Natural Area? Would it be all right if we hadn’t protected the site two years ago? As a region, do we care if our unique natural resources are lost forever? Today you have an opportunity to invest locally. While we’ve been successful in protecting the Mill Creek Natural Area, we must now work to ensure that Mill Creek retains its ecological integrity for many years to come through restoration and ongoing stewardship efforts. This isn’t a place halfway around the world that you will never visit. This is a high quality natural area right here in southwestern Illinois. Folks from California and New York likely won’t be joining us for this restoration campaign. The good folks of southwestern Illinois need to take the lead in advancing the conservation of our most precious natural areas. Join us in “Investing in the nature of Southwestern Illinois.” President, CEO HeartLands Conservancy