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November 12, 2012

SAVE STARVED ROCK STATE PARK

The Sierra Club, Midwest SOARRING Foundation, and other concerned citizens are opposed to the Mississippi Frac Sand Mine’s permit to mine near Starved Rock State Park. Starved Rock State Park, like the rest of Illinois State Parks, is a unique asset for all the people of Illinois.

Watch the video of Joseph Standing Bear Schranz, Founder of Midwest SOARRING Foundation, speak about the importance of saving Starved Rock State Park.

Starved Rock and nearby Matthiessen State Park are jewels in the state of Illinois. Only an hour and a half drive from Chicago, Starved Rock has unrivaled canyons and rare salt marshes that provide valuable habitat for plants and wildlife. Over two million visitors a year hike the miles of park trails and enjoy the serenity and peace of the canyons with their cascading waterfalls. These visitors bring tourism revenue to La Salle county businesses located nearby the park.

This will all change if the Mississippi Frac Sand Mine is allowed to operate just outside the park. The unique natural getaway La Salle County provides will be spoiled with a noisy, dusty mine adjacent to the park. Tourism will decline. The water flow surrounding the park and the rare salt marshes could easily be damaged, impacting the beautiful waterfalls in the canyons. Loud blasting from the mine will disturb wildlife and could fracture the surrounding soft sandstone cliffs and canyon walls to leading to increased rock falls. There is also the danger of nearby residents and workers inhaling silica dust from mining which overtime could lead to Silicosis, a non-reversible disease of the lungs.

We must protect Mother Earth and the treasures the Creator has given us. Native Americans teachings urge us to think about the next seven generations. Is this what we want to pass on to our children and next generations?

We urge you to write Governor Pat Quinn and the IDNR to express your opposition to the Mississippi Frac Sand Mine being allowed to mine adjacent to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois. View sample letter.

Contact Governor Pat Quinn:
Office of the Governor
The James R. Thompson Center
100 Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-814-2121

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244
TTY: 888-261-3336

Contact Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Marc Miller, Director
217-785-0075

One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
217-782-6302

 

Aanii Boozhoo

Midwest SOARRING Foundation invites all people to gather into an ever-increasing wider circle that preserves Mother Earth, and the rich traditions of the ancestors. We invite you to learn about the many intertribal Native American lifeways that provide wisdom and direction in our contemporary world. In keeping with this path, Midwest SOARRING Foundation works to maintain the traditions of the ancestors and to conserve and restore to health the natural environment.

We invite you to join our circle. Dance at our pow wows. Attend our cultural events and support the bison herd-our nation's greatest herbivore and symbol of hope and survival for all people. As you listen, you will learn. Together we become the Spirit of the ancestors.

Joseph Standing Bear Schranz


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