ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 23 



State Parks for Illinois 



In the issue of the Bulletin one year ago attention was directed to the 

 fact that there has been no official reference to the organization of state 

 parks in Illinois since 1 Ml 3 and that although there is a Division of Parks 

 under our state government it does not seem to be charged with the task 

 of studying significant areas in Illinois with reference to their suitability for 

 state parks and reporting thereon from time to time to the General 

 Assembly. The old Park Commission had this particular function and it 

 was in accordance with its successive recommendations, that the Starved 

 Rock Park was first acquired and later enlarged, and the Fort Chartres 

 area set apart as a State Park. 



In contrast with the official inactivity in Illinois during the past six 

 years, there is a record of progress in Iowa that is inspiring and full of 



promise. 



The thirty-seventh General Assembly of Iowa authorized the creation 

 of state parks out of funds from fees obtained from hunters' license fees. 

 Although the funds available have not been large, two state parks have 

 resulted from this action. A 1200 acre park along the Muskoqueta River, 

 embracing one of the few type streams left in Iowa, containing also sonu 

 magnificent old white pine, was dedicated last October. A second state 

 park has recently been established in the horseshoe bend of the DesMoines 

 River near Keosauqua. This area of 1,123 acres contains a large number 

 of interesting native trees, especially oaks, and shrubs. Some of the rarer 

 species of Iowa birds, such as the drumming pheasant, are found here. 



The state is receiving generous gifts. The Brandt sisters of Davenport 

 donated 57 acres of what is known as "Wild Cat Den," an area containing 

 some rare ferns and interesting from an ecological standpoint. The citizens 

 of Farmington and Van Buren county purchased outright 100 acres con- 

 taining a lotus pond of 40 acres. The thirty-eighth assembly appropriated 

 $100,000 annually for the creation of these parks. 



Fortunately all this time public interest in Illinois in state parks and 

 the conservation of forest areas has been steadily growing. The forest 

 preserve established in Cook County, an area almost imperial in proportions, 

 has had a significant influence. Various conservation groups have been 

 considering particular phases of the situation. Up to the present time the 

 most significant bit of work has been that of the Illinois State Park Com- 

 mittee of the Friends of Our Native Landscape. This Committee has for 

 several months been making a survey of the state to include the following 

 objectives: areas suitable for state parks and state forest land areas. This 

 committee has no. official relation to the state government but its organiza- 

 tion met with Gov. Lowden's approval and the peculiar fitness of its mem- 

 bers to undertake a work of this kind will insure respectful consideration 

 for its recommendations. A subcommittee consisting of Prof. S. A. Forbes 

 of Urbana and of Mr. Jens Jensen and Prof. H. C. Cowles of Chicago 

 has recently presented to the full committee a detailed report 

 with recommendations which while tentative in its nature is big with con- 

 structive significance. This committee favors for state parks areas of not 

 less than one thousand acres — and the distribution of such park areas over 

 the state with reference to population centers where possible. The com- 



