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How
Should Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Be Managed?
Midewin
National Tallgrass Prairie has a new official land use plan
as of May 8. The USDA Forest Service has released the Proposed
Land and Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement containing six alternative habitat management
and land use plans. After a 120-day public comment period,
one of the alternatives will be selected as the basis for
how Midewin is managed for the next 10-15 years.
During
the 120-day public comment period, individuals and organizations
are encouraged to write and tell the Forest Service which
alternative they like best and specifically why they like
it. The six alternatives vary in some of the specifics of
habitat management and recreational use of the 16,000-acre
grassland. All the alternatives center on habitat management
for wildlife. How much of the territory, for instance, will
be managed for birds of the upland prairie or for the creation
of wetter prairie habitat?
To
obtain a copy of the proposed Midewin land use plan and
to learn more about the process by which it was created,
visit Midewin’s Web site at www.fs.fed.us/mntp or contact
Renee Thakali, Planning Team Leader, at rthakali@fs.fed.us
or (815) 423-6370.
Site
tours and public workshops will be scheduled throughout
the summer to provide opportunities to learn more about
the proposed plan. One of several planned Chicago area workshops
is scheduled on July 11, 2:00-6:00 p.m. at the Metcalfe
Federal Building, Lake Michigan Room, 77 W. Jackson Boulevard
in Chicago.
The
Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club will post its recommendation
for the Midewin plan at www.sierraclub.org/chapters/il.
— Douglas S. K. Chien
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