PEORIA -- The June 7 issue of the Peoria Journal Star includes a terrific op-ed piece by John Grigsby, the environmentalist who has saved Rice Lake and its environs from many depredations.
Now Rice Lake is in jeopardy from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which under Gov. Pat Quinn, who once expressed concern for the environment, and his appointees, should know better than to destroy it to save it.
Peoria environmental activist Joyce Blumenshine also wrote a letter to the PJS on this topic recently.
Both agree that the state DNR is pursuing idiotic, wrongheaded policies at Rice Lake.
In a state that is laying off teachers because it has no money to pay them, it's crazy to waste $11 million on this project.
Some of this is federal funding, but obviously other environmental work should take a higher priority than this one. And who knows, some of the money might even be diverted to teach kids science.
What Grigsby and Blumenshine omit -- and likely are not aware of -- are other follies pursued by the DNR.
At Spring Lake, near Pekin and Manito, DNR "experts" a few years ago decided to spray herbicide to kill the water lillies in the lake. They made a total mess. Dead lillies everywhere. And it didn't work.
I saw the lake today, and the water lillies are still there. Actually they're lovely. They should be left alone. So much for the wasted money and the mess made in the past!
Then there's the canal that connects Spring Lake with the Illinois River, and runs along Spring Lake Bottoms, also state property. Some fool - must be the DNR again! -- recently sprayed herbicide on trees bordering the canal.
These trees, of various sizes, harbor birds and are part of the natural environment there. The herbicide has killed half of the larger trees, leaving an unsightly scene, with the trees half dead, half sprouting leaves. So they may be recovering. Smaller trees are dead.
And worst of all, the herbicide likely drifted into the water, poisoning it. Fish, birds, frogs, turtles and other creatures use the canal -- guess they loved having to breathe and drink poisoned water -- if they're still alive.
How much money was wasted in this effort? Why doesn't Illinois ban herbicide spraying on state property and along any waterway?
Once again, why in a state that can't pay its teachers, is this stuff taking place at all?
Likely the good old boys running the DNR can't overcome their urge to "farm" the natural environment, however harmful that may be. Or maybe they're a little too friendly with the herbicide industry!
Is Gov.Quinn, like Pres. Obama, impotent and powerless against an entrenched bureaucracy?
Let's hope that Quinn sees the articles by Grigsby and Blumenshine, and takes action to save Rice Lake once again. This is an election year, after all, and there's a viable Green Party candidate running for governor.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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