Is a Parking Lot More Valuable Than a Prairie?

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(October 24, 2021 – Featured image courtesy of John C. Longhenry) I wish I could say that’s not a serious question. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the answer isn’t clear. Since the last time we reported on Bell Bowl Prairie, a lot has happened. People are talking about it. They’re protesting. They’re writing op-ed pieces. But you’re hearing from the choir, not the policy makers who could make a difference. The important topographical and biological remnant, Bell Bowl Prairie, is still in danger of being bulldozed. Environmentalists are fighting to make a difference. So, we ask again, is a parking lot more valuable than a prairie?

Briefly, Bell Bowl Prairie is a rare gravel prairie. It probably represents fully a quarter of the remnant gravel prairies in Illinois. However, it is basically located in the footprint of Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD). RFD began planning for a 280-acre expansion several years ago. The airport authority says it did everything by the book, including performing an environmental assessment in 2019. But environmental groups claim they first learned about the threat to the prairie in August of this year.

A tenuous reprieve

Then, a miracle occurred. A temporary one. A naturalist discovered a threatened rusty patch bumble bee on the prairie. That halted construction until November. In the interim, friends of the prairie went to work. They held meetings. They wrote letters. And they even protested at the Openlands Annual Luncheon, where Illinois Senator Dick Durbin was being given an award. I commented on it last week.

That bought time for activists to go to work. Then, local media got into the act. These are just some of the stories and comments that have appeared.

• Conservationists look for alternatives and call on politicians to help protect prairie from airport (Northern Public Radio)
• Race is on To Save ‘Primeval’ Patch of Illinois Prairie Threatened by Rockford Airport Cargo Expansion (WTTW)
• ‘We want airport and prairie’: Group pitches plan to save Bell Bowl Prairie and allow Rockford airport expansion (Rock River Current)
• Endangered bumblebee is blocking Rockford airport expansion that will destroy rare prairie — but only for another week (Chicago Tribune)
• Bell Bowl Prairie Proponents Have a Proposal to Save Rare Land and Allow Rockford Airport to Expand (WTTW)

Smaller parking lot?

Meanwhile, there might be a new plan to save the prairie. At a public meeting last Tuesday, a landscape architect unveiled his proposal. Domenico D’Alessandro thinks the prairie can be saved by rearranging the pieces of the airport expansion. He joins us today when he presents his re-design. He, too, asks if parking lots are more important than prairies. Also, Kerry Leigh, executive director of the Natural Land Institute, returns. She will tell us about talks with the power brokers, who have been tight-lipped about where they stand. Finally, we welcome Jen Kuroda of Sinnissippi Audubon. She will have insight into what we stand to lose if the prairie disappears.

The MCC Green Living Expo is back!

Here’s a fact. Peggy and I love McHenry County College and its Green Living Expo. The pandemic last year brought a temporary halt to the event. This year, the Expo was ready to go back to a live forum. Perhaps out in the parking lot. Except that the Delta variant of COVID-19 had other plans. Wisely, the college detoured slightly and put the gathering online. Even so, it promises to be yet another great event.

The Expo is free but attendees are strongly encouraged to register before the day of the event. You can do that here. In fact, the first 200 people to register will receive a free re-usable veggie produce bag (made from recycled materials). But wait! There’s more! Watch for coupons and giveaways from vendors. (See? Sometimes it IS easy being green.)

The Expo goes live on Saturday, November 6, from 10am to 5pm. But, beginning around noon on Thursday, November 3, you can preview the event and vendors.

The event features four unique tracks: Renewable Energy, Waste Reduction, Food and Farming, and Fun and Recreation.

That means

Solar Battery Storage and E-car Charging
Live Tour of MCC Student Farms and High Tunnels
Preserving Fresh Food by Freezing, What Works and What Doesn’t
Chickens 101: Where do I start?

And more. You know you want to go. As usual, Kim Hankins, Director of Sustainability at MCC, stops by the show to give us the details.