Illinois Mixed Bag: Meredosia boat ramp set for overhaul – Outdoor News
Meredosia, Ill. — A project that would replace a boat ramp on the Illinois River is in the early stages, according to a report by the Jacksonville Journal-Courier. Anthony Miller, with Hutchinson Engineering, told the newspaper that the design phase is nearly complete, though work likely won’t start until next year.
“It’ll be a complete reconstruction of the whole ramp,” Miller said. “It’s currently in the design phase and construction hasn’t started yet. Construction likely won’t start until the spring or later, depending on the river levels.”
Meredosia received a $200,000 grant from DNR to help cover the cost of the replacement, but it originally was meant to replace the north boat ramp. It eventually was decided to replace the south ramp instead, Miller told the Journal-Courier.
“After inspection, it was found that the south ramp was worse that the one to the north,” Miller said.
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Monroe County Prairie Exceeds Funding Goal
Waterloo, Ill. — A goal of $175,000 was set to help save a disappearing section of natural Illinois prairie. According to the HeartLands Conservancy (HLC), which led the charge to save the 15-acre Trout Hollow Hill Prairie in Monroe County, $180,165 had been received as of Sept. 10. HLC reported that an anonymous donor offered to match the donations “1 for 1” to save the prairie – and up to half the purchase price of the land.
“It is not usual to exceed fundraising goals – it was a really exciting experience – we’ve never really had this many people so excited about taking care of a prairie,” Mary Vandeverd, executive director of HLC, told St. Louis’ CBS Channel 4.
About 10 acres of the Trout Hollow property look out over the Mississippi River on limestone bluffs, and the natural set up of the trees and prairie in the area keep soil from disappearing on the top of the formation. The HLC hopes that expanded trails and nature observation points can be included in the future – and possibly even hunting areas set aside for use. It’s possible that in the future, the lands could be transferred to DNR.
Hackmatack Awarded $940k for Conservation
Galena, Ill. — Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in northern Illinois has been awarded a $940,000 grant from the Department of the Interior as part of a program led by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. The 180 acres in the Hackmatack is part of the federal government’s plan to conserve or restore 91,425 acres of wetland and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds in 17 states.
The grants, made through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), will be matched by more than $99.1 million in partner funds.
In addition, the Commission approved more than $11.7 million from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners the ability to conserve habitat on seven national wildlife refuges across seven states. The acquisitions will expand public opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and outdoor recreational access.
DNR Accepting Bids on Agricultural Leases
Springfield — DNR will accept sealed bids this fall for about 30 agricultural lease contracts for crop years 2025-2029.
DNR utilizes agricultural leases as a tool to support wildlife populations and recreational opportunities at sites owned or managed by the agency. The leases developed under this program will promote ecologically sound agricultural practices to improve soil health, minimize soil erosion, improve water quality, and reduce chemical impacts to benefit wildlife populations and their habitats.
DNR sites with leases open for bid will be publicly announced on BidBuy, the State of Illinois’ procurement site. A non-mandatory vendor conference will be conducted for each open lease with details included in the public notice.
Lamprey Treatment Helps Lake Michigan Fish
Chicago — A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project in Door County, Wisconsin is expected to save thousands of pounds of fish in Lake Michigan in the next couple of years. USFWS staff has been applying lampricides to Bear Creek, which empties into the lake, that are meant to kill more than 1,000 sea lamprey larvae that are burrowed in the creek bed before they can become grown lampreys that feed on and kill fish in the lake. The lampricides were applied Sept. 10-19.
“Bear Creek is two miles long, and within those two miles there’s well over 1,000 larvae,” said Shawn Nowicki, a unit supervisor fishery biologist with the Marquette (Michigan) Biological Station of USFWS. “When they transform into juveniles, they migrate out to the lake and become parasitic. It’s 99% effective at removing larvae from the stream.” Nowicki said USFWS usually treats more than 100 creeks and streams a year that flow into the Great Lakes for larvae infestations. Infested tributaries must be treated every three to five years to control sea lamprey populations.
Research: Milkweed Vital to Monarch Numbers
Chicago — A new study finds anyone with a green thumb, urban or rural, can help save monarch butterflies. Results from research conducted from 2020 to 2022 astounded Field Museum scientists.
“We encouraged participants who had planters on balconies, who had planters on rooftop decks, and we saw some of the most amazing things,” Karen Klinger, a Geographic Information Systems analyst said. “There was one participant who had a planter set on the condominium roof that had five large caterpillars in one photo.”
Researchers trained more than 400 volunteer community scientists around the Chicago area to observe their milkweed patches for monarchs. Those scientists made nearly 6,000 observations across 810 patches of milkweed in Chicagoland in four years.
Source: https://www.outdoornews.com/2024/09/16/illinois-mixed-bag-meredosia-boat-ramp-set-for-overhaul/
