Jelke Creek work will be benefit

Restoration at Jelke Creek in Dundee Township is on track ecologically and environmentally through improving biodiversity and removing invasives. It takes a former quarry and dump and provides all-season, low-cost family recreation. A rolling prairie on conserved land with vistas of Jelke Creek and wildflowers is certainly better than an old quarry or some other development.

As a National Arbor Day Foundation member, I would be sad to see a tree go. But both the foundation and our forest preserve district recognize that not every tree is right.

Field notes from 1840 state that this section was rolling prairie and swampy bottom lands. From The State of the Birds 2009, "Grassland birds are among the fastest and most consistently declining birds."

Per the Nature Conservancy, "Less than 1 percent of the original prairie remains, once common species such as meadowlark and bobolink have declined 70 to 90 percent." Both have been recorded on-site.

Prairies allow water to seep into the ground and hold the soil firm; thus, preventing erosion and sedimentation.

This project reduces runoff, improves the watershed, and puts clean water right back where we need it. Studies on child obesity and behavior problems link to Nature Deficit Disorder. This project will help combat NDD. We are doing the right thing for our community for many, many reasons.

David Poweleit

Carpentersville