increase in diversion of Lake Michigan water at Chicago may have a 

 positive impact on navigation, making it possible for the present navi- 

 gation channel to accommodate deeper-draft barges in certain areas, 

 without additional dredging or higher dams, yet plans for a greater 

 channel depth and for increased diversion are pursued independently. 

 Increased diversion would conflict with attempts to manage and restore 

 bottomland lakes by dewatering, yet downstream effects do not seem to 

 weigh heavily in the controversy over diversion. 



It is likely that some of the conflicts existing in the present 

 piecemeal management of the Illinois River system could be resolved or 

 ameliorated by interagency cooperation and coordination. If management 

 of the river can be coordinated, and if methodologies and information 

 can be developed to predict the future of the Illinois River system 

 under a variety of development, restoration, and pollution abatement 

 programs, it should be possible to determine what portion of the fish 

 and wildlife production of the past could be bought back in the future. 

 The 1973-1974 recovery in the game fish populations of the Illinois 

 River, in response to temporarily improved conditions in the river, 

 demonstrates that the past can be redeemed — to what extent depends upon 

 man's willingness to spend resources in restoring habitat and improving 

 water quality. 



73 



