Mike Clifford Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Grab the link that follows this press release to find many of the latest developments in Illinois watersheds. Very comprehensive and definitely worth a few minutes of your time.......... SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today awarded nearly $2.8 million in Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Conservation 2000 (C2000) grants to help local communities protect and improve Illinois’ environment. The 51 grants awarded today will benefit a variety of habitats in 88 counties throughout Illinois. “These grants are critical investments in our natural resources and local communities. The projects will help protect the environment, provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation, and help bring more tourists to our state,” said Gov. Blagojevich. To date, IDNR’s C2000 Ecosystems Program has awarded more than $32.5 million in grants, benefiting every county in Illinois, and leveraging an additional $31.5 million in local matching funds and in-kind contributions for a total of $64 million in projects throughout the state. With C2000 funding, local partnerships across the state have restored more than 64,000 acres of prairie, forest, wetland and wildlife habitat and protected more than 5,600 acres of habitat through acquisition and conservation easements. The C2000 Ecosystems Program is designed to take a holistic, long-term approach to protecting and managing Illinois’ natural resources. With more than 90 percent of the land in Illinois privately owned, the C2000 Ecosystems Program’s primary focus is to improve habitat through ecosystem-based management on private land. At the heart of the program are the Ecosystem Partnerships, which are coalitions of local stakeholders comprised of private landowners, businesses, scientists, environmental organizations, recreational enthusiasts, policy makers, and others. http://www.foxriverecosystem.org/PDFs/C2000grantsFY07.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Thanks for the posting, Mike. Interesting to see all the exotic plant control measures on the list. This may actually be the year I give in and get my herbicide training...if the Nature Conservancy and every other natural resources group in the state is doing it, I guess I can at least get certified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Dells Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Cool, they gave 350,000 $ for more land along the Kish. Sounds greedy on my part to want to buy all the land along the Kish but i know this little river very well, it can't take high impact construction like it already has. To small a river to take all the spilloff it has already seen from the few contratcors they have already let in. Kudo's to the illinois government for once! Im still trying to figure out why they don't just claim it Wild and Schenic and put it on the list of No Touch policy. Only two groups looking to buy it, the government for parks or the developers who want to build along a farm land flood plain, to me it's a No Brainer! This river is a perfect cantidate for a few primitive campsites along it's lenght. Reminds me of the Flambeau and the Manitowish rivers in Wisconsin,both have a few primitive sites and both are awesome weekend canoe/fishing rivers. Why not the Kish? Rich do you think this is an idea we could plug to Terry Hannon? I would give my summer building primitive campsites,pit johns and tent pads as well as doing more tree removal in Kirkland. I walked a mile down last week and theres still NO WAY your going to get a canoe through that crud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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