New National Wildlife Refuge Recommended for Illinois-Wisconsin Border

Sierra Club Inner City Outing to Hackmatack Area, September 2011. Photo courtesy of Dan Deters.

Spring brings good news to Illinois and Wisconsin!

US Fish & Wildlife Service's recommended refuge

Today the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recommends the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge be established in McHenry County, IL and Walworth County, WI.

The Fish & Wildlife Service proposes a refuge which would link with and expand on existing lands already protected by the McHenry County Conservation District and Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources.  Their aim is to provide large blocks of habitat for migratory birds and endangered species including declining grassland birds like Dickcissel, Henslow’s sparrow and short-eared owl which nest in restored prairies, the savanna-loving red-headed woodpecker, and wetland-dependent species like the least bittern, pied-billed grebe and the federally endangered Whooping crane. Core blocks of habitat would be linked by corridors which would allow migration of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants in the face of a changing climate.

The Hackmatack refuge would be the closest refuge to the Chicago, Rockford and Milwaukee metro areas, fitting nicely with the USFWS’s policy to establish refuges easily accessible to people living in urban areas. Hackmatack is a Native American word for the tamarack tree, rare this far south, but found within the proposed refuge’s boundaries.

The Fish & Wildlife Service is soliciting public comment through April 27 on their Environmental Assessment that evaluates and recommends establishment of the refuge. Detailed information can be found at the USFWS website. Two open house events to learn more about and submit comments on Service’s recommendation will be held on:

•Tuesday, April 3 from 5 to 8 PM at Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park, Route 31 and Harts Road, Ringwood IL

•Wednesday, April 4 from 5 to 8 PM at Brookwood Middle School, 1020 Hunter’s Ridge Drive, Genoa City WI

Sierra Club has made it easy to send the USFWS an email in support of the refuge.  Go Hackmatack! 

Emanuel Shoots Down Gun Range Near Eagles’ Nests

Statement of Christine Williamson
Chair, Sierra Club, Chicago Group

“Sierra Club is thrilled and gratified by Mayor Emanuel’s decision to withdraw support for locating a new police firing range too near important and sensitive wetland habitat in the Lake Calumet region.

Mayor Emanuel’s decision will allow a variety of bird species, including nesting bald eagles, to flourish in this vital habitat right here in the City of Chicago. These wetlands are part of the proposed Millennium Reserve, which will allow visitors to experience their natural beauty. Now visitors to the Reserve and residents of nearby neighborhoods will be able to have a true urban wildlife experience, rather than hearing gunfire.”

Recent Polling Shows Public Support for Permanent Barriers in Chicago Area Waterways

A conceptual rendering of of the barrier and transportation improvements on the Calumet River near Lake Calumet. *GLC Study

There is strong public support in the Chicago area for placing permanent barriers in the region’s waterways to prevent the spread of Asian carp, according to a poll by OpinionWorks, an independent, non-partisan opinion research organization.

The poll of 401 adult Chicago-area residents found that 57% favor addressing Asian carp by “placing one or more permanent barriers in the canals around Chicago to return the waters to a more natural state,” with 17% opposed.  The poll has a margin of sampling error no greater than ±4.9%.

Support for a permanent barrier rises to 77%, with 10% opposed, if “other problems could be solved” along with the Asian carp problem, such as those outlined in a recent report from the Great Lakes Commission.  That report said construction of one or more permanent barriers would necessitate addressing stormwater, wastewater, transportation, and green infrastructure issues.

According to the poll, neighborhood flooding and sewer overflows, which are two key problems addressed in the Great Lakes Commission Report, are a problem for a significant share of the public:

Region-wide, 17% of residents describe flooding in neighborhoods after a hard rain as a “very serious problem.”
Thirteen percent (13%) call sewer overflows and water pollution a “very serious problem.”
Nearly one-quarter (23%) of the region’s residents are personally affected by flooding in their own neighborhood at least occasionally.

The Army Corps of Engineers continues to address the problem of invasive species through the GLMRIS project which is projected to be finished in 2015. The Corps has publicly stated that they will evaluate the information gathered for the Great Lakes Commission report into their final work and has hinted that this will shorten their timeline although no new end date has been announced.

This poll shows that there is strong public support for separation and emphasizes the need for renewing our outdated water infrastructure and investing in a permanent solution to reduce water pollution, flooding and stop the transfer of aquatic invasive species.

Emanuel Delivers on Promise of Clean Energy For Chicago

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has taken two more big steps toward a clean energy future for Chicago. While many leaders talk about the urgency of transitioning to clean energy, Emanuel is acting, and making major changes that will deliver cleaner air and new jobs for Chicago in the near future.

First, Emanuel made a major break with the dirty energy of the past when he announced the closure of Chicago’s two coal-fired power plants, which operate without scrubbers in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods. Residents in neighborhoods at the base of the smokestacks have for years sought to have the plants cleaned up or shut down, but made no progress under Mayor Richard Daley. Despite support from across the city for action against these health threats, Daley never showed interest in solving the problem, and an ordinance that would have required cleanup languished in the the City Council he controlled. Daley did a great deal to make Chicago cleaner and greener, but this is one problem he never took on in his quest to become the greenest city in America.

That all changed with the arrival of Emanuel. Emanuel talked during his campaign about the need to clean or close the coal plants, and upon taking office, set about to do just that. While support grew in the Council for a proposal by Ald. Joe Moore and Ald. Danny Solis to force pollution controls, Emanuel called in the owners of the plants and made it clear that the days of dirty coal in Chicago were numbered. He worked with the community, health, environmental, and labor organizations in the Chicago Clean Power Coalition to set a timetable and conditions for closing the plants, and on February 29th, sealed the deal. Midwest Generation’s Fisk plant, located across from Dvorak Park in Pilsen, will close by the end of this year, and their Crawford plant, in Little Village, will close no later than the end of 2014.

Moving beyond coal is a giant step for public health, but the transition to clean energy must be a two-step. Emanuel knows that clean energy solutions bring not only cleaner air, but also cost savings and the potential for thousands of new jobs. Most would agree with those goals, but current market barriers and economic problems have slowed the development of these technologies of the future. But how can we invest in the future when private capital is restricted by tight credit markets, and public dollars are scarce?

Emanuel seems to have devised a brilliant solution with the Chicago Infrastructure Trust. The Trust, which he launched with former President Clinton in Chicago March 1st, would leverage investment from participating lenders and investors in energy efficiency projects in Chicago. The investors would be paid a return based on the energy savings the public buildings will realize when retrofits are made. Emanuel plans to raise $200 million this way to retrofit public buildings in Chicago. Saving energy will create at least 2000 jobs doing the retrofits, and save an estimated $20 million on government energy bills per year.

The transition from coal to clean energy can be slow when powerful interests fight to protect the status quo. Unfortunately, that’s the role being played currently by the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, this week in Chicago two great leaps forward by Mayor Emanuel expedited the day when residents will be free of dirty coal power, and benefiting from the smart choices that will take its place.

In helping to announce the new energy efficiency spending, Clinton talked about Emanuel’s penchant for action over words:

“He was always concerned about how you can take an idea that was new and actually make it work. Talk is cheap in politics and business and life. Anybody can say anything. It’s quite another thing to turn your good intentions into real changes.”

These are real changes indeed, and they are real good for Chicago.