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Notes from the Chair by Alice Englebretsen
Click to see Responses to our Questionaire by candidates for Mayor and City Council running in the February 22 primary in Urbana.
Click on REPORTS above to read about a Weekly Environmental Radio Show supported in part by member contributions.
Click Here to join the Prairie Group Alerts Listserv.
Upcoming Meetings:
For more information on these events please contact Rubina Khan,
our Program Chair,
at 217-384-1833 or at
her email.
The following meetings are held at CIVITAS, 112 W. Main Street, downtown Urbana (between Race and Broadway just east of the old Cinema Theatre).
First Annual Sierra Soiree!
Wednesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m.
The Prairie Group will be hosting a dessert-centered get-together to welcome new Group members and to celebrate longtime supporters. Save the date and look for a mailing in February for more details!
First annual Sierra Soiree (scheduled for March 9th) has been postponed. Wednesday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. (note date change)
Public Lands at Risk: A Slide Show Tour
presented by Clayton Daughenbaugh, Sierra Club National Conservation Organizer
It is replaced by ...
This land is our land from Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge to Utah
spectacular redrock canyons, all the way to the cypress swamps of
Florida's Everglades. Or is it? According to our government's
current policies it might as well belong to the oil and gas industry.
Come view the evidence and learn what you can do to stand by the land
at the "Public Lands at Risk" slide show tour sponsored by the Sierra
Club's National Wildlands Campaign Committee.
The land is beautiful, the damage is real, and individual American's
are coming forward to protect our Creator's natural heritage. Will the
health of the earth and all who live on it be maintained for our families'
benefit or will the land be used for highways, oil wells, and the refuse
of development? This slide show will tell the story. Come see it and do
your part!
BACKGROUND:
On January 4, 2002 the Interior Department ordered the employees of
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to make oil or gas development on
federally managed land their top priority. Since then over 2 million
acres in Utah alone has had its protective status revoked and
regulations have been put in place that allow for the construction of
highways on these lands96 even through National Parks. These policies
mirror the threat to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and
impact public lands throughout the nation.
On December 22, 2004 the National Forest Service announced new rules
eliminating requirements for fish and wildlife protection and the
public's right-to-know about alternatives regarding prospective land
management decisions. The new rules also allow for the exclusion of
the public from decisions regarding significant changes to established
management plans.
In the last four years a land area equal to that of Texas and Oklahoma
combined has been opened to oil and gas development, logging, and mining.
Wednesday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.
Urban Sustainability and Ecological Footprint: Issues and
Opportunities for Champaign-Urbana
An "ecological footprint" measures the burden placed on the environment
by populations and indicates how much land is needed to sustain current
levels of resource consumption. Rumi Shammin
, a PhD candidate and
graduate assistant in the Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Sciences (NRES) at the University of Illinois, will give
an overview of Champaign-Urbana's footprint and its implications for
sustainability and resource management.
Citizens, Water Quality, and You
Jane Li
of Prairie Rivers Network will speak on practical ways in which
citizens can do something about water quality in their area.
Construction sites are overlooked sources of pollution that contribute
vast quantities of dirt into rivers and streams when unstabilized dirt
is carried away by stormwater runoff. Her presentation trains people to
identify common construction site violations and how to report a
violation.
Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 p.m.
Environmental Justice and the Sierra Club
Low-income and People of Color communities are disproportionately
affected by pollution and other types of environmental degradation.
Issues of race and class frequently compound the barriers existing
between mainstream environmentalists and people from these communities.
Kirstin Replogle, Chair of the
Sierra Club National Environmental Justice Committee and member of
the Prairie Group ExCom, will talk about the history of the environmental
justice movement and the Sierra Club's revolutionary effort to support
suffering communities.
Wednesday, June 8, 5:30 p.m.
June Potluck at Homer Lake Forest Preserve, Walnut Creek Shelter
Join us for a potluck picnic at Homer Lake Forest Preserve to watch the
sunset, canoe on the lake, or hike along the many trails. Rain or
shine, come and enjoy one of the loveliest locations in Champaign
County. We will meet at the Walnut Hill Shelter, which is centrally
located near the lake. It offers indoor restrooms, a grill, cold water
and playground equipment, a volleyball court, and a basketball court.
Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club
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