This is in response to the Chicago Tribune editorial “Keeping an eye on the corps,” which appeared on Oct. 14.
Chicago developed into the great city it is today in large part because of its strategic location along Lake Michigan near the Illinois River.
To this day, Chicago depends on Lake Michigan for its drinking water and goods continue to be shipped down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
We need to protect these natural resources.
These resources are the lifeblood of the region’s economy and ecology.
We at the Nature Conservancy were encouraged to see the Chicago Tribune’s support for the long-awaited Water Resources Development Act in the editorial.
It’s time for Congress to approve WRDA, which will benefit not only Chicago and Illinois but everyone who depends upon the rich resources of the Mississippi River, the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes.
The legislation authorizes Congress to spend up to $1.65 billion to restore the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and additional funds to restore the lower Mississippi and Gulf coastal wetlands. It also includes provisions vital to the health of the Great Lakes.
The Upper Mississippi River system, which includes the Illinois River and stretches from Minnesota to the southern tip of Illinois, supplies drinking water to 18 million people.
It provides almost a million jobs and generates nearly $150 million in business revenues.
River-related tourism contributes close to $7 billion annually to local economies.
But the health of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers is declining due to pollution, excessive sediment, unnatural fluctuations of river levels and invasive species. WRDA can help address these problems by restoring natural areas.
It also includes provisions that would allow the Conservancy to advance two key wetland restoration projects on the Illinois River.
Our goal is to create fully functional floodplain habitat at our Emiquon Preserve, located about an hour southwest of Peoria, and our Merwin Preserve at Spunky Bottoms near Versailles, Ill.
WRDA also authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to operate and maintain electric barriers that serve as the last line of defense against Asian carp invading the Great Lakes.
These fish can weigh more than 60 pounds each, yet they frequently leap out of the water at the sound of a boat motor.
They threaten not only the safety of boaters, but their size and reproductive potential would also put the Great Lakes food web at risk, endangering native fishes as well as recreational and commercial fisheries.
