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ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 
Gield Museum of Natural History 
ROOSEVELT ROAD AND LAKE SHORE DRIVE - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60605 

ESTABLISHED 1897 


























ORGANIZED FOR THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS AND 
THE PRESERVATION OF OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 
AUDUBON NEWSLETTER 
ole O,uNO. 2 Judith Joy - Editor February 1969 
as a as i Se DTUary 1909 
WHAT IS THE NATURE OF OUR RESPONSE? 
Several years ago, a conservation-minded president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 
} Once observed, "that this generation has a rendevous with destiny." It might 
| well be said of our present generation, that we have a rendevous with frus- 
tration. We face problems of such staggering magnitude that it sometimes 
appears that we are unable or unwilling to solve then. Regardless of which 
political party dominates the nation or the state or the city, it sometimes 
seems that our problems defy solution. We are caught in a web of our own 
making and the strands get tighter every day. 
Our vast population increase both here in America and the rest of the world 
would indicate that despite our vast technology and wealth and imagination, 
we may not find adequate solutions. We face a disastrous decline in the qua- 
lity of our environment thru destruction of Open spaces, disappearance of wild- 
life, and thru increasing air and water pollution. What is the nature of 
Our response? 
The appointment of Gov. Walter Hickel as Secretary of Interior by President 
eechardsNixon, appears .toisome..observers. to border on disaster. They have 
remarked that a large fortune made in shopping centers and hotel construction 
hardly qualifies a man for so sensitive a post. Some conservationists suggest 
that Nixon should withdraw the appointment on the basis that the Republican 
party has men far more qualified to serve the public than Mr. Hickel. A few, 
_here and there have a few kind words to Say. What is the nature of your 
_ response? 
Here in Illinois, we have learned that former Conservation Director William 
_Lodge had downgraded the purchase of Goose Lake Prairie for a state park, pre- 
}ferring the acquisition of Strip-mine land instead. The ambivalence and vacil- 
lation of the Conservation Dept. over this issue reminds one of the famed 14th 
century story of the jackass who was placed between two attractive loads of 
hay. Unable to make up his mind between the two, he died of starvation. 

Gov. Richard Ogilvie has chosen an exceptional public servant in the person of 
William Rutherford to head the new Illinois Conservation Dept. Mr. Rutherford 
has been a Peoria attorney and has served in several Civic ppoOsts > © Helis. isthe 
Vice-President of the Forest Park Foundation, an organization which has been 
instrumental in the obtainment of over 3200 acres of land in the Peoria area, 
Lionhai UF hz 
What will be the nature of his response? Vit 
e-- Raymond Mostek, President, IAS 
6% angen BIOLOGY LIBRARY ¥EPSTY OF TLLINGIS 
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