Full Text of HR0192 101st General Assembly
HR0192 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commend the partnership between the | 4 | | North Branch Restoration Project, the Centennial Volunteers | 5 | | Program, and the Friends of the Forest Preserves and their | 6 | | efforts to restore the forest preserves, as well as the Forest | 7 | | Preserves of Cook County's commitment to building and | 8 | | supporting volunteer restoration efforts; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago metropolitan area contains some of | 10 | | Illinois's largest and best remnants of its native ecosystems; | 11 | | these remaining natural lands are irreplaceable and need help | 12 | | to survive and prosper; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1977, a group of enthusiastic citizens | 14 | | volunteered to help rescue several small remnants of native | 15 | | prairie that still survived in the Forest Preserves of Cook | 16 | | County along the North Branch of the Chicago River; today, many | 17 | | groups in the Chicago area are involved in the restoration of | 18 | | native habitats; among these groups, the North Branch | 19 | | Restoration Project has been called a model for volunteer | 20 | | stewardship and ecological restoration; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Every weekend, volunteers gather at scheduled | 22 | | sites to work, restoring health to the preserves by cutting |
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| 1 | | brush, pulling weeds, and gathering and sowing seeds; citizen | 2 | | scientists collect important information about the plants and | 3 | | animals, monitor changes in sites as restoration proceeds, and | 4 | | add to the knowledge of local ecosystems; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The results have been remarkable; in prairies, | 6 | | plants such as cream false indigo, purple prairie clover, | 7 | | rattlesnake mater, and bottle gentian have reappeared and are | 8 | | thriving; many grassland animals, from the smooth green snake | 9 | | to the great spangled fritillary butterfly, survive because of | 10 | | these efforts; with the return of sunlight and fire in the | 11 | | woods, grasses, sedges, and wildflowers once again cover the | 12 | | forest floor; great crested flycatchers, American woodcocks, | 13 | | and eastern wood pewees raise their young in the woods; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Across the Forest Preserves of Cook County, more | 15 | | than 20 endangered or threatened plant species have increased | 16 | | in numbers; animals such as the Cooper's hawk and the Edward's | 17 | | hairstreak butterfly are back from the edge of local | 18 | | extinction, and the eastern bluebird has returned to nest in | 19 | | the North Branch savannas; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The Forest Preserves of Cook County, with nearly | 21 | | 70,000 acres, is the largest forest preserve district in the | 22 | | United States; within its boundaries are rare habitats that | 23 | | offer plant and animal diversity on par with the rainforests of |
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| 1 | | the world; more than 20 years ago, the District became the | 2 | | first agency in a major metropolitan area to monitor urban | 3 | | wildlife that carries West Nile, Lyme disease, rabies, and | 4 | | avian influenza; as a result, the District's Wildlife Research | 5 | | Center now has a world renowned data set utilized by the | 6 | | Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, and | 7 | | many universities; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Centennial Volunteers were established in | 9 | | 2015 and are a part of a community of like-minded individuals | 10 | | who help restore the Chicago River system and make a tangible | 11 | | difference to the environment; volunteers are trained by | 12 | | experts in restoration and resource management and are involved | 13 | | in regular volunteer days on the weekends throughout the year; | 14 | | they lead activities for nine sites on volunteer days and | 15 | | during other special events; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The Friends of the Forest Preserves was founded in | 17 | | 1989, and its mission is to be "the voice of a diverse | 18 | | community inspiring and organizing people to protect, restore, | 19 | | and expand the forest preserves in Cook County"; the Friends of | 20 | | the Forest Preserves helped develop the Next Century | 21 | | Conservation Plan, an ambitious blueprint to make Cook County a | 22 | | national leader in urban conservation, and now plays a | 23 | | leadership role in the plan's implementation; the organization | 24 | | also played an instrumental role in developing the Conservation |
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| 1 | | Corps, a program that provides high school students and young | 2 | | adults with hands-on conservation projects to help restore | 3 | | land, including raising more than $5 million in support, which | 4 | | made it possible to engage more than 950 young people who have | 5 | | helped care for and improve over 1,000 acres of Forest | 6 | | Preserves' land; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The North Branch Restoration Project, the | 8 | | Centennial Volunteers, and the Friends of Forest Preserves are | 9 | | exemplary community partners with the Forest Preserves of Cook | 10 | | County and support and train a vast network of volunteers to | 11 | | help steward the woodlands, savannas, wetlands, and prairies | 12 | | across 70,000 acres of preserves; the value of the volunteers' | 13 | | efforts extends beyond the borders of the forest preserve | 14 | | property, as volunteers enjoy the physical and mental health | 15 | | benefits of spending time in nature among a supportive, | 16 | | friendly community of people, and the neighborhoods receive the | 17 | | environmental benefits of clean air, stormwater retention, and | 18 | | beautiful spaces to get outdoors to relax and play; therefore, | 19 | | be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 21 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 | | we commend the North Branch Restoration Project, the Centennial | 23 | | Volunteers Program, and the Friends of the Forest Preserves and | 24 | | their efforts to restore the forest preserves, congratulate |
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| 1 | | them on their success, and applaud the Forest Preserves of Cook | 2 | | County's commitment to encouraging and supporting volunteer | 3 | | efforts; and be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to the North Branch Restoration Project, the | 6 | | Centennial Volunteers Program, the Friends of the Forest | 7 | | Preserves, and the Forest Preserves of Cook County as an | 8 | | expression of our esteem and respect.
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