[BCNnet] fencing FP areas; questions and important article
John & Jane Balaban
balx2@comcast.net
Sun, 9 Nov 2003 11:34:37 -0600
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"(2) Please consider that no person ran for office to be a commissioner =
of the Cook County Forest Preserve. It's just something they have to =
do. And the only commissioner who really cares about the environment is =
Quigley -- the same one quoted in the Pioneer article encourging the =
Thatcher Dog group. There are a handful of others considered to be =
'good' by the Sierra Club but even those commissioners cast what they =
call pragmatic votes -- like building a parking lot on FP land for the =
new Jewish museum in Skokie."
For the record, Randi, the FP District agreed to build a parking lot for =
the museum when Cal Sutker was still a Commissioner for the 13th =
District (including Skokie). He was defeated by now Commissioner Larry =
Suffredin, who made the Forest Preserves a central part of his campaign =
for election and who indeed cares about and is working hard on Forest =
Preserve issues.
I very much agree with Walter and Judy that it would be a mistake to =
simply write this off as a "done deal". Commissioners can be educated on =
issues but it takes citizens who are willing to take the time to get to =
know their Commissioners and give input on important issues. There will =
never be a better time than now to try and influence the Board on the =
question of appropriate kinds of recreation and the best use of the =
District's limited resources.
And the most important message the Commissioners and the public need to =
hear is the need to focus on the core mission of the District, which is =
to preserve, protect and restore the natural land. Any and all requests =
should be judged against that benchmark first. I am not against dog =
areas or other such special uses in general, but they are more =
appropriate to park districts not Forest Preserve lands. On the other =
hand, passive recreational uses such as bird watching, hiking, or family =
picnicking in designated areas are examples of excellent ways for the =
public to enjoy the beautiful preserves without adversely affecting the =
plants and animals that live there.
Jane Balaban
North Branch Restoration Project
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<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
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<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1264" name=3DGENERATOR>
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<BODY style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: =
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<DIV>"(2) Please consider that no person ran for office to be a=20
commissioner of the Cook County Forest Preserve. It's =
just=20
something they have to do. And the only commissioner who really =
cares=20
about the environment is Quigley -- the same one quoted in the Pioneer =
article=20
encourging the Thatcher Dog group. There are a handful of =
others=20
considered to be 'good' by the Sierra Club but even those commissioners =
cast=20
what they call pragmatic votes -- like building a parking lot on FP land =
for the=20
new Jewish museum in Skokie."</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff>For the record, Randi, the FP District =
agreed to=20
build a parking lot for the museum when Cal Sutker was still a =
Commissioner for=20
the 13th District (including Skokie). He was defeated by now =
Commissioner Larry=20
Suffredin, who made the Forest Preserves a central part of his campaign =
for=20
election and who indeed cares about and is working hard on Forest =
Preserve=20
issues.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff>I very much agree with Walter and Judy that =
it would be=20
a mistake to simply write this off as a "done deal". Commissioners can =
be=20
educated on issues but it takes citizens who are willing to take the =
time to get=20
to know their Commissioners and give input on important=20
issues. </FONT><FONT color=3D#0000ff> There will never be a better =
time than=20
now to try and influence the Board on the question of appropriate =
kinds of=20
recreation and the best use of the District's limited =
resources.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff>And the most important message the =
Commissioners and=20
the public need to hear is the need to focus on the <STRONG>core=20
mission</STRONG> of the District, which is to <STRONG>preserve, protect =
and=20
restore the natural land</STRONG>. Any and all requests should be=20
judged against that benchmark first. I am not against dog areas or =
other=20
such special uses in general, but they are more appropriate to park =
districts=20
not Forest Preserve lands. On the other hand, passive recreational uses =
such as=20
bird watching, hiking, or family picnicking in designated areas are =
examples of=20
excellent ways for the public to enjoy the beautiful preserves without =
adversely=20
affecting the plants and animals that live there.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Jane Balaban<BR>North Branch Restoration =
Project</DIV></BODY></HTML>
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