Find ways to rescue raptor program

DuPage County residents have a great love for the outdoors; the woods, wetlands and the animals that inhabit these environs.

That has been registered in consistent voter approval of tax hikes in support of preserving open space and buying more land that was at risk of being lost to development.

It is evident in efforts by citizens to save trees threatened with destruction. Many residents in Glen Ellyn are lobbying hard to stop the village and the village's park district from proceeding with a plan to cut down hundreds of trees in Ackerman Park to make way for a flood control project.

An intense love of nature also is driving another grassroots campaign in Itasca to save a popular wildlife program.

At the beginning of the month, the village of Itasca said it was going forward with a partnership with Barrington-based Health World, which would make Itasca its new home base. But the partnership also calls for changes at the village's Spring Brook Nature Center -- including elimination of the center's raptor exhibit.

Last week, there was a change of heart. Village officials, responding to an outpouring of support for the raptor program, said it would it would look at ways to possibly keep it in place.

There's a reason why supporters of the raptor exhibit call it the "jewel of Itasca." It is a unique exhibit and excellent hands-on educational opportunity that draws visitors from throughout the Chicago area. In addition to nursing sick birds back to health, the exhibit houses 13 birds of prey, including owls, hawks, falcons and vultures -- many of whom are featured at special events and public programs.

Village officials maintain that the birds are a burden on the budget, and they can no longer afford the exhibit's $100,000 in annual costs.

But for now the Itasca Village Board and Mayor Gigi Gruber have agreed to put plans to close the exhibit on hold, with the hope they can find ways to keep it open. But they are counting on the community coming up with some suggestions on how to firm up its financing.

Which means supporters need to take advantage of this reprieve by stepping up efforts to find non-tax revenue to pay the exhibit's bills. Grants from nature organizations should be sought. Launch fundraisers which, in a county that highly prizes preservation of nature, might succeed in raising a good amount of money. Seek to increase individual sponsorships of the raptor program at the Spring Brook Nature Center. Intensify marketing efforts to draw more visitors to the exhibit.

Itasca is doing the right thing in reconsidering its decision to close the raptor exhibit in response to the hundreds of people who have come forward with pleas to keep it open. But it's now up to the community to help the village come up with a plan to keep the program solvent, starting with attending a special meeting to discuss the future of the exhibit. It will be at 6 p.m., April 22, at the Itasca Village Hall, 550 W. Irving Park Road.