dedi grene is Ur belie BeO Na Bs Urls Lek IN rh 
An Explanation of Land Transfer Policies 
By Sam A. Parr, Administrative Assistant, 
Illinots Department of Conservation 
Quite frequently in the past the Department has obtained or has been 
given little tracts of land that do not meet the criteria of an open space 
wilderness area or park. We have, on a number of occasions, transferred 
these properties to municipalities. The areas are transferred without cost, 
but with the stipulation that they must forever be used for public recrea- 
tional purposes or must revert to the State of Illinois Department of Con+ 
servation. 
The tract in Kendall County, which includes a stream, bed, is part of 
the Fox River. The property lies directly below Oswego and is being 
transferred to the City of Oswego for recreational purposes. The land was 
given to the Conservation Department by the Division of Waterways and 
does not meet the criteria for state development, but it will make a very 
valuable little park and recreation area for the municipality. 
There were two other bills in this session of the Legislature that 
transferred state lands to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County 
under similar qualifications. There was also one bill to transfer a 24-acre 
tract to the City of Metropolis. All of these bills contained the same pro- 
visions. 
The Department certainly recognizes that land is hard to come by 
and we, above all, do not particularly want to give it away; however, 
under these particular stipulations, these small tracts can be developed 
to a higher degree of park-type recreation than if they were left in state 
hands. The tracts in DuPage County were purchased by the Department 
of Conservation by direct appropriation for specific transfer to the Forest 
Preserve District. State Office Building, 400 S. Spring St., Springfield, Ill. 
Editor’s Note: We thank Mr. Parr for his enlightening explanation of Conservation Department 
philosophy with regard to small recreation areas. This sounds like an excellent policy to us. 
A FI ft 
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DR. RALPH YEATTER RETIRES AS DIRECTOR 
After serving 28 years on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Audubon 
Society, Dr. Ralph Yeatter retired in May. He has been a Game Specialist 
on the staff of the Natural History Survey at Urbana, Illinois, since 1934. 
Dr. Yeatter plans to retire from this post before the end of the year. He 
expects to spend part of his retirement months in Illinois, and the winter 
months in the sunniest part of Arizona. 
Known chiefly for his work with the Prairie Chicken, Dr. Yeatter 
contributed many articles on wildlife to national and state publications 
on such subjects as the Hungarian Partridge, the Blue-winged Teal, the 
Pheasant, Bird Dogs, Cottontails, and the Bobwhite. He had a special in- 
terest in the upland game of the state. 
Born and educated in Michigan, Dr. Yeatter came to Illinois shortly 
after obtaining his doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1984. 
He served two separate terms as President of the Champaign County 
Audubon Society — in 1945-46 and again in 1950-51. 
He has been a member of A.A.A.S. and A.O.U., and he also holds mem- 
bership in such groups as the Wildlife Society, the Wilson Club, the 
Illinois Academy of Sciences, the Illinois Audubon Society, and the Eco- 
logical Society. 
