- 2 -1.A.S. Newsletter, February 1968 
ALLERTON PARK THREATENED BY U.S. ARMY 
The woodland of the Sangamon River Valley, near Monticello, in downstate 
Illinois, is the site of the Robert Allerton Park, a 1500-acre nature preserve 
and cultural center now being threatened by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
The park, given to the University of Illinois in 1946 to be used 
perpetually for teaching and research, combines formal gardens and statuary 
with the natural beauty of the lowland forests of the Sangamon River Valley. 
Open to the public from dawn to dusk, the park has played host to many 
scientific and cultural conferences and, each summer, welcomes gifted young 
artists and musicians 4-H youths who attend special camps. 
This past summer, however, the Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to 
flood most of the bottomland of the park as part of the Oakley Reservoir 
Project. If this plan is carried out most of the forest will be cut down and 
a dam will be built, flooding much of the natural area of the park and trans- 
forming most of what remains into md flats, In so doing, the Corps will not 
only destroy one of the last remaining flood plain forests in Illinois and 
deplete a beautiful park, but will also deal a serious blow to on-going 
biological and forest research programs at the University of Illinois, which 
is in easy driving distance, 
Many arguments based on mis-—information have been advanced favoring the 
destruction of the park, It is claimed that the city of Decatur, which will pay 
#5 million of the total $60 million cost of the project, needs the Oakley 
Reservoir to insure adequate water supply. Those who support this view admit 
that a plan proposed in 1961 for a reservoir level of 621 feet wuld be adequate 
for this purpose and would not affect the park. Another claim is that the 
reservoir created by flooding the park would provide recreation for many. This 
claim ignores the fact that in an average summer the water would drop to less 
than a one-foot depth and provide an ideal breeding groim for mosquitoes, 
as well as set up an unsightly mud flat. 
Anyone wishing further informatim on the park, may obtain a very fine 
booklet by sending 75¢ to the University of LIllinais, Robert Allerton Park, 
Monticello, Illinois. 
Senators Percy and Dirksen of Illinois have asked the Corps to reconsider 
its ill-foumied plans. We must support this reconsideration and work for the 
lower dam level. 
- Robert H. Beeman 
118 Gale Ave, 
River Forest, Ill, 60305 
NOTE: Mr. Beeman is a recent graduate of U. of I. Has 
written letters to newspapers on this issue 
several times, Why not give hima hand? It's 
your park and your country, too. 
Sidiielele octet aMe 







