Going native along utility corridors
...
Miles of Tiles, former acres of wetlands
...
Ecology up on the roof

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Fall 2004

GOING NATIVE ALONG THE CORRIDORS

Dear Editor,

First, let me compliment you on a fine magazine — I think the new look is a definite improvement...

Have any of the members of Chicago Wilderness approached Commonwealth Edison about restoring native vegetation in their electric transmission rights of way? These rights of way are extensive, and some, such as the transmission lines along I-355, provide natural connections between existing parcels of our Chicago wilderness. A number of other electric utilities, such as Alabama Power, have done this to the benefit of the company, local communities, and native wildlife.

Frank Ehrhardt
Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Editors' Note: See this issue's News to read how utilities and conservationists are collaborating.

MILES OF TILES

Dear Editor,

I really enjoyed Alison Carney Brown's excellent article on drainage tiles in our area ("Miles of Tiles," Spring 2004). As a landscape historian who specializes in the naturalistic designed landscapes of O.C. Simonds, Jens Jensen, and others, I am familiar with the extensive draining of city land to create parks and cemeteries, and was aware that this was common practice on farms. I also ponder the effect of John Deere's steel scouring plough on our prairies. But I had no idea just how much farmland drainage had occurred, or that Illinois had had more than eight million acres of wetlands before drain tiles!

Thanks for a great piece and a wonderful publication.

Barbara Geiger
Wilmette, Illinois

ECOLOGY UP ON THE ROOF

Dear Editor,

It was salient to feature Chicago's City Hall's Rooftop Garden, which is thriving with plants, flowers, insects, birds and an array of myriad wildlife species ("Birds on a Cool Green Roof," Summer 2004). This monumental endeavor by Chicago's Mayor Daley exemplifies his greatest attribute, specifically, environmental restoration....Daley has transformed long-standing areas of urban blight into nature havens capable of flourishing, if not destroyed by vandals. His most overlooked achievement has been a seminal and proactive ideology to foster ecological stewardship.

Brien Comerford
Glenview, Illinois