From southeast Wisconsin to the Indiana dunes, a large chunk of the Chicago region is working to preserve and restore natural areas. It’s the first voluntary effort of this size in the nation and it’s becoming a model. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… government is now getting involved, but some of the private sector is still wondering what’s happening:
Transcript
From southeast Wisconsin to the Indiana Dunes, a large chunk of the Chicago region is
working to preserve and restore natural areas. It’s the first voluntary effort of this
size in the nation and it’s becoming a model. Government is now getting involved, but
some of the private sector is still wondering what’s happening. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Almost one hundred organizations, including museums, zoos, federal agencies, and
environmental groups have been putting together a plan to preserve the few remaining
natural areas in and around Chicago. Kent Fuller heads up a task force for a group
called Chicago Wilderness. He also works for the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes National
Program office. Fuller is working to implement the Chicago wilderness biodiversity
recovery plan.
“One of the elements of the plan is to try and reach local governments. Not only the
municipalities, but the park districts as well. To try to get the word out that there
are important aspects of biodiversity that exist on their lands and in those
communities that can be helped through the actions by, you know, things like local
zoning decisions, or decisions by a local park district whether to build one more ball
field or to manage a piece of their land for natural purposes.”
The plan’s organizers got the help of planning agencies because they coordinate a
region’s growth. The Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission has approved the
project and late last year the Northeast Illinois Planning Commission – called NIP-C –
also approved. John Paige is the director of planning services for NIP-C. He says
although the commission has no regulatory powers, once the agency adopts a plan, it
filters down to county and municipal governments. They use it as a blueprint. State
government uses the planning agency’s designs for funding decisions.
“When we look at an expressway proposal, have they incorporated into it the provisions
for not altering or degrading any existing natural areas, but have they incorporated,
maybe, planting prairie grasses in the right-of-way. And we can say that must be done,
based on this plan.”
Paige says the biodiversity recovery plan will mean more natural areas, and more
native wildlife. And that improves the quality of life. He adds the quality of life
attracts business. And Paige believes business and wildlife preservation can go
hand-in-hand.
“It is somewhat seemingly conflicting or counterintuitive that they’re going to buy
land and build on it when it could have been a prairie or something like that. But I
maintain that it takes people and it takes people that appreciate that to, in fact,
protect the land. You know, they’re going to build on this one, but they’re going to
be interested in saving the valuable natural areas that exist.”
Paige says urban planners have begun to understand the importance of preservation as
the region continues to grow. The chair of the Biodiversity Recovery Task Force, Ken
Fuller, says his group isn’t looking to return Chicago to swamps, dunes, and
prairie… at least, not all of it.
“This is not anti-growth. We’re looking at sustainable growth and particularly in the
rapidly growing areas, trying to get out there and talk to people ahead of time and
get them to have the idea, ‘Well, we should preserve the best places.’ And it really
builds a quality of life. And the hope is that people could sort of get re-acquainted
with nature and really come to appreciate it and understand the place they live and
love it in a different way than they maybe are able to at this moment.”
The Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan is changing some of the landscape of
the region. Cities are planting more native shrubs and trees in parks and roadsides.
Some corporate campuses are converting bluegrass lawns to prairie flowers. As new
office complexes and shopping malls are built, zoning laws will encourage or require
more of this kind of planting. But it’ll probably take a while for the idea of
biodiversity recovery to filter down to existing businesses. Amy Anderson is with the
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
“I would not say that there is a wide understanding of environmental issues,
particularly among smaller businesses where it’s a struggle every day to keep your
business afloat.”
Anderson says most business people understand planting a tree is good for the
environment. But they figure a Japanese weeping cherry tree is as good as a native
wild black cherry tree.
“Biodiversity is another step above probably where most of the general public is,
thinking it’s a pretty complicated technical issue, but I would definitely say there
is movement afoot among industry, among business to become more environmentally
friendly.”
Anderson says being green is seen as a good public relations move. But she notes, it’s
easier to get businesses to think about things such as native grasses and shrubs when
economic times are good. She says as soon as the economy takes a turn downward, native
landscaping is the kind of thing that gets cut first to improve the bottom line.
Even if businesses keep planting marigolds instead of native prairie clover, more
natural plantings will be springing up in parks and landscapes all over the Chicago
region. And it might not stop there. Already a half-dozen cities in the U.S. and a few
in other countries are contacting Chicago wilderness to see how they can restore some
of their own natural areas.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.