Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club
Outings Newsletter Local Action Resources Membership
Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club
Outings Newsletter Local Action Resources Membership
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The May General Meeting of the Shawnee Group will take place at the Unitarian Fellowship building, at 7:30 PM, on May 14, 1998. The Unitarian Fellowship is located at the corner of University Avenue and Elm Street, in Carbondale, Illinois. This months program will be The Geology of Southern Illinois by Dan Reusch. Hope to see you there!
by Barbara McKasson
Since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been involved in a planning process aimed at evaluating the feasibility of restoring and preserving migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, and "interjurisdictional" fish in the 3.3 million acre Kankakee River Basin. This basin extends from eastern Illinois through the northwest corner of Indiana. One concern of the USFWS is the decline of many grassland nesting non-game birds, such as the grasshopper sparrow, dickcissel, bobolink, Henslow's sparrow, vesper sparrow, savannah sparrow, lark sparrow, field sparrow, and eastern and western meadowlark. The average annual declines of these birds have averaged from 7.6% to 1.1% per year since the mid-1960's. When was the last time you saw a dickcissel or a bobolink?
Several Federally endangered and threatened species also occur in the Kankakee River Basin, including Mitchell's Satyr butterfly, Indiana bat, copperbelly watersnake, Mead's milkweed, and eastern prairie-fringed orchid. The area also supports more than 75 state-listed species. This proposed Refuge would also save and restore some of the most threatened habitats in the world. Less than 15% of original wetlands remain in both states, as well as less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie and oak savannah. Although over 99% has been lost, the Basin still contains among the greatest concentrations of black oak savanna in the U.S. "Urbanization" is now threatening the existence of even these remnants.
The USFWS proposed action is to "develop the Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to serve as a vehicle to restore, preserve, and enhance grassland and wetland-dependent populations of fish and wildlife in the Kankakee River Basin." The USFWS would use conservation easements and partnerships for much of the preservation effort. The Service would purchase about 30,000 acres at fair market value on a willing seller bases only (no eminent domain). There are five proposed alternatives. Alternative 1 is "no action".
Alternative 2 would focus mainly on existing and restorable wetland habitats.
Alternative 3 would focus on grasslands and oak-savannah habitat.
Alternative 4 would focus on Federally endangered and threatened species habitat
Alternative 5 is a "hybrid" of alternatives 2-4, and is the USFWS preferred alternative. This proposal had been sailing along with much support until The Farm Bureau and some farmers in Indiana became paranoid and figured the national government was going to force them to tear up their drainage systems and turn some of their farmland back into a marsh. Now, according to the USFWS, the decision of which alternative to choose will come down to which side can muster the most support - The Indiana Farm Bureau or preservationists. That is why we need your "vote". You can "vote" by writing the USFWS with an official comment on their draft environmental assessment. It does not have to be a long comment. We recommend that you vote for Alternative 5, which would preserve the most diversity of animals, plants, and habitat. Then just tell why you voted for the alternative. If you do want to make a longer comment, or want more details, just call Barbara McKasson (618-529-4824), and we will mail you a copy of the summary of the draft environmental assessment.
The 250 page Draft EA is available if you want it from the address below! Comments must be received by the USFWS by June 30th. To send a comment, write to: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Branch of Ascertainment & Planning, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111-4056, Attn.: Thomas J. Larson.
In the U.S. Congress, we helped defeat H.B. 2515, the Smith "Forest Recovery and Protection Act". This was another "forest health" bill like the salvage logging rider that would have allowed logging in National Forests under the guise of cutting to improve the health of the forest without having to follow the forest plan and with no citizen input. We can thank both Rep. Costello and Rep. Poshard for opposing H.R.2515. !!
At the state level, we defeated H.B. 2940, the global warming bill, which was cosponsored by Rep. Phelps and Rep. Woolard. This bill would bar Illinois from reducing greenhouse gases. Obviously a gift intended for Illinois coal miners. !!! The state of Wisconsin has declared a moratorium on mining.
The Exxon Corp. has abandoned plans for a mine next to the beautiful, exciting, whitewater Wolf River. !!!! Both Missouri and North Carolina have adopted a moratorium on new chip mills while state commissioned studies assess damage that is being done by the chip mills. The hardwood consumed by a chip mill in one month could keep a sawmill running for a year. Chip mills encourage clearcutting, because the mills can chew up any size tree to make chips. Also, a large percentage of the chips are shipped overseas, to be make into chipboard and paper. These chip mills take jobs away from an area rather than bring in new jobs, so there are really no pluses to chip mills.
by Barbara McKasson
Have you been wondering whether or not to recycle those plastic bottles that you felt guilty about buying in the first place? Look for the recycling logo with the arrows and the number in the middle. If the number is "1" or "2", then recycle. If the number is "3", then it is PVC plastic, and it will hinder rather than help the recycling process. Also, make a resolution not to buy that kind of bottle again. An international investigation conducted by Greenpeace reveals that less than 1% of PVC plastic is recycled, despite claims to the contrary by the plastics manufacturing industry.
The Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers, a recycling industry trade group, announced that "PVC bottles are a contaminant to the recycling of PET and HDPE bottles". PVC is unique in its high content of hazardous additives (e.g. lead, cadmium, phthalates), needed to achieve the wide spectrum of PVC product applications. As a result, PVC requires costly separation from other plastics, additional processing measures and even then often only allows downcycling into products of inferior quality. PVC recycling is 2-3 times more expensive than the production of virgin PVC. In light of this, large amounts of PVC waste are being burned, buried and exported to developing nations.
When PVC is burned, it produces dioxins, the most toxic substance besides plutonium. Also, if you want to give companies a taste of their own waste, send non-recyclable plastics back to the company that manufactured it! For example, back in 1991, Coca-cola and Pepsi announced that they would be using recycled plastic in their soda bottles. As of today, their soda bottles (which are made of PET) contain ZERO RECYCLED PLASTIC. Coke abhors negative publicity, so there is now a campaign underway to send Coke (Sprite, etc.) bottles back to the company. Here is what you can do. First, rinse and cap the bottle, add a label saying "Please recycle this plastic into your next plastic bottle", affix $0.55 postage, and send to: M. Douglas Ivestor, Chairman & CEO, Coca-Cola; One Coca-cola Plaza; Atlanta, GA 30313.
You can find out more about the campaign at: www.kirkwork.com/grrn
Join the Kaskaskia Group on a hike to one of Illinois' last remaining prairies. We will have lunch overlooking Kidd Lake Marsh. You may also visit historical Fort de Chartres which will be having its 18th Century Rendezvous. Meet in Columbia, IL at McDonalds on Rt. 3, at 9 AM. Bring a lunch and something to drink. Call Sandy Anderson at 618-893-4545 for more information and carpooling options from Carbondale area.
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have an Ozark Mountain stream all to yourself, this is your chance. This years canoe outing is going to beat the crowds by starting the trip on a Sunday and ending on a Tuesday. We'll experience a different kind of wildlife as we meander through the hills. We'll camp in a campground on Sunday night and rise early to put our canoes in and float most of the day to Monday nights camp on a river gravel bar. We will continue canoeing on Tuesday until about noon and then head home. Trip capacity-12. Signup fee-$10. Canoe rental and camping fees-approx. $25. Bring your own food, tent, and bedroll. To sign up or for more information, contact Mary Swindell at 549-2720, e-mail-mswindel@siu.edu.
The next Shawnee Group Ex-Com meeting will be Thursday, May 21, 1998, at 5:30 PM at Clara McClure's home, 1204 W. Hill St., Carbondale.
Senator Dick Durbin, 267 Russell Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510, (202) 224-2152 (D.C. Office), 250 West Cherry, Rm. 115B, Carbondale, IL 62901, (618)457-3653.
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, 320 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510, (202)224-2854. U. S. Congressional Dist. 12, Jerry Costello, 2454 Rayburn Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515, (202) 225-5661, 250 W. Cherry St., CarbondaIe, IL 62901, (618) 529-3791.
US. Congressional Dist 19, Glenn Poshard, 2334 Rayburn Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515, (202)225-5201, New Rt. 13 West, Marion, IL 62959, (618)993-8532.
Illinois (Government) Governor Jim Edger, State Capitol, Room 207, SpringfieId, IL 62706, (217) 782-6830, 1-800-642-3112.
Illinois Senatorial Dist. 59: Senator Jim Rea, State House Rm. M103F, Springfield, 62706, (217) 782-5509, 112 E. Market, Christopher, IL 62822, (618) 724-9444. Illinois
Senatorial Dist. 19: Senator David Leuchtefeld, State House, Rm., SpringfieId, IL 62706, (217)782-8137, (618)529-3866, Local address same as Bost. Illinois
Representative Dist. 115: Representative Mike Bost, William Stratton Office Bldg, Room 2002-G, Springfield, IL 62706, (217) 782-0387, 300 E. Main St., Carbondale, II, 62901, (618) 457-5787.
Illinois Representative Dist. 117: Representative Larry Woolard, William Stratton Office Bldg., Room 2050-L, Springfield, IL 62706, (217) 782-1051, Williamson County Airport, Terminal Drive Suite 106, Marion, IL 62959, (618) 997-1171.
Illinois Representative Dist. 118: Representative David Phelps, William Stratton Office Bldg., Room 2059, Springfield 62706, (217)782-5131, 617 E. Church St., Suite 8, Harrisburg. IL 62946, (618) 253-8001.
President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500, (202) 456-1414, e-mail. President@whitehouse.gov.
Vice President Al Gore, Same address & phone # as President, Vice President e-mail: Vice.President@whitehouse.gov. **If not sure which Congressional or legislative district you are in, you can call your county clerk's office. The staff there should be able to give you that information, or look on your voter's card.
The Shawnee group now has a phone tree of over fifty households. Also, we are now part of the action alert system of the Illinois Chapter, the Illinois Telephone Action Network (I-TAN). Each group in Illinois is notified when there is an important, timely piece of legislation (state or national) that affects natural areas or the environment. Thus, Sierra Club members can act in concert to most effectively influence votes on legislation important to our members and the environment. We hope even more of you will decide to join our action system. To sign up contact Barbara McKasson, 899 Rowan Rd., Makanda, IL 62958, 618/529-4824, e-mail babitaji@aol.com.
The Shawnee Group's official phone number is (618) 549-9684. There is a message machine hooked up to the hotline. A detailed explanation of the current Priority One I-TAN action alert will be in mailbox # 6. Explanations of secondary priority I-TAN action alerts will be in mailbox #7. Information on how to contact your elected representatives will be in mailbox #2. Mailbox #4 contains information about Shawnee Group meetings. Other mailboxes will contain information on group outings, local action alerts, information about Sierra Club and how to join, etc. We will also have our phone number in both the white and yellow pages.
The Shawnee Group's homepage is on the Shawnee Free-net at http://www.shawnee.org. Log on as visitor, then select "Community Resource Center", then select "Associations," then select "Shawnee Group, Sierra Club." You're There!!! Handy e-mail addresses include address.changes@sierraclub.org, where you can update your name or address information (remember to include your membership number) and sierra.letters@sierrclub.org for sending letters to the editor of Sierra magazine.
To receive the Shawnee Trails newsletter via e-mail, send request to lccw@midwest.net. Ex-com members e-mail addresses are listed on page 4.
Chair, Membership Chair, Delegate to Chapter-Mary Campbell, 529-7250, dandmcamp@midamer.net
Vice Chair-Laurel Toussaint, 964-1339, laurel.toussaint@sierraclub.org
Secretary-Cathie Hutcheson, 529-2022, hutche@siu.edu
Treasurer, Fundraising Chair, Book/Calendar Publications Rep.-Mary Swindell, 549-2720, mswindel@siu.edu
Conservation Chair, Phone Tree Coordinator, Alternate Delegate to Chapter-Barbara McKasson, 529-4824 babitaji@aol.com
Biodiversity, Lands Management, Population/Growth, Environmental Education, Endangered Species/Habitat Chair-Mary Dresser, 827-4529
Shawnee Forest/Wilderness/Parks/Refuges Chair,-Ed Cook, 995-9309, ed.cook@sierraclub.org
Wetlands and Clean Water, International Chair-David Kvernes, 457-5570, dkver@siu.edu
Political Chair-Clara McClure, 457-2025
Outing Chair-Sandy Anderson, 893-4545
Computer Committee, Marine Chair-Don Lawrence, 457-8989, donaldlaw@aol.com, don.lawrence@shawnee.org
Shawnee Trails Newsletter Editor-Don Lawerence, 457-8989, donaldlaw@aol.com Jim Balsitis
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