Daily Herald
August 10, 2005
President Bush will be coming to Aurora today to sign a bill that would provide federal funding for local transportation projects.
According to Congressman Dennis Hastert's office, some of the money from the bill is earmarked for the Prairie Parkway.
As Bush and Hastert meet after the signing, Friends of the Fox River would like to strongly urge them to carefully oversee the process by which a route for the proposed Prairie Parkway is chosen.
One of the proposed (and apparently favored) routes crosses Big Rock Creek twice and closely parallels the creek for a large portion of its course.
Big Rock Creek is one of only a few Class A streams in northeastern Illinois (representing a "unique aquatic resource" as measured by the Illinois Department of Natural Resource's biological stream characterization.
Another Class A stream in the area is Aux Sable Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River whose headwaters lie southeast of the Yorkville area, which also may be affected by the proposed parkway.
A large part of what has kept Big Rock Creek in its relatively pristine condition is the undeveloped nature of its riparian (streamside) area. The creek's riparian corridor, in many places, is rather broad and quite heavily wooded.
The natural condition of the riparian area allows rain water to percolate slowly through the soil into the creek rather than run off quickly, as would happen in a more developed area.
The trees in the riparian corridor provide shade to the creek keeping its waters cool. This combination of cool, clear water provides a unique habitat for many diverse species of fish including the state-endangered greater redhorse.
Construction of the Prairie Parkway in such close proximity to Big Rock Creek will have tremendous detrimental effects on this unique natural resource.
Bridge crossings of the creek will destroy sections of timberland. The additional hard surface of the roadway will create faster runoff into the creek, contributing to increased flooding and increased accumulation of silt as well as introducing pollutants such as oil and salt.
The additional development (both residential and business) that is sure to follow construction of the freeway will create even more hard surfaces, further exacerbating the runoff/silt problem.
The combination of this increased accumulation of silt and the elimination of trees will result in higher water temperatures and lower water quality that will adversely affect many of the intolerant fish species currently calling the creek home.
We ask that any proposed routing of the parkway that has the potential for such a devastating effect on such a unique natural resource as Big Rock Creek be rejected and a different route be selected.
Illinois doesn't have many natural treasures like Big Rock Creek left. The Fox River Valley has even fewer.
Please do the responsible thing and help to protect, rather than destroy, our natural heritage.
Tom Schrader
Vice President
Board of Directors
Friends of the Fox River
Crystal Lake