The DuPage River Coalition, the Fox River Ecosystem Partnership and the Morton Arboretum in Lisle are among west suburban groups to receive grant funding for natural resource-protection projects through the Illinois Conservation 2000 program.
Thirty-four private-public watershed partnerships in Illinois received more than $7 million through the grants, which must be matched by other contributions. The grants were announced recently in Springfield.
According to a statement from Gov. George Ryan, the awards will pay for improvements to more than 18,660 acres of habitat and will facilitate the protection of another 1,300 acres through conservation easements or acquisition.
The Naperville-based Conservation Foundation’s DuPage River Coalition received $96,665 for a project to improve water quality in Bloomingdale by removing a concrete channel in the east branch of the waterway and planting native vegetation.
Foundation Executive Director Brook McDonald said the channel was installed for stormwater management in the 1960s, when conventional wisdom held that water should be moved out of an area quickly. Current stormwater management theory favors slower dispersal.
“Making water move faster actually contributed to flooding because the water didn’t have time to sink in,” McDonald said. “We propose to rip out the concrete and restore the natural stream channel by planting native vegetation, which also will provide habitat and look nicer.”
The Fox River Ecosystem Partnership was awarded $72,000 for marketing its Integrated Management Plan for the Fox River Watershed. The project, based in Aurora, will benefit DuPage, Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, Cook, Lake, McHenry, Will and LaSalle Counties.
The Morton Arboretum received $29,205 for a research project that tracks changes in vegetation in natural areas. Arboretum plant conservation biologist Marlin Bowles will conduct the project. Bowles plans to sample and survey vegetation at 120 sites throughout the Chicago region.
According to arboretum spokeswoman Meredith Zelewsky, the sites last were evaluated 20 years ago. Bowles’ research is expected to generate comparison data.
Other grant recipients included the Kane County Environmental Management Department, which received $67,000 for economic analysis and development of a plan to improve water quality and reduce flooding in the Blackberry Creek watershed in southern Kane and northern Kendall Counties.
The Fox Valley Park District received $17,089 for a native plant shoreline stabilization project along the banks of the Fox River in Aurora, and the St. Charles Park District received $8,848 for a stream corridor and channel restoration project that will use natural materials.
Oswego received $30,000 for a wetland and prairie plant project in the Fox Chase area. The Will County Forest Preserve District received $43,770 for a Prairie Parklands wayside exhibits project at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet.
Another Midewin-based project, a Northeastern Illinois University survey of insect life on prairies and grasslands, received $20,000.
A Northeastern Illinois Natural Resources Outreach and Technical Assistance program that will involve the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, local government agencies and other organizations received $90,000. The program, designed to promote improved planning, protection, acquisition and restoration, will be administered in Chicago and will benefit DuPage, Kane, Cook, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties.
