eee sae BOON Beall ee N 31 
relinquished to Illinois to enable the state to use the I&M and its lands 
for highway, park, recreational or any other public purpose. The act pro- 
vided that if the land ceased to be used for public purposes, the grant 
would be revoked. The Illinois Constitution was amended in 1954 to permit 
sale of the lands by the state. Last year the State Legislature passed a bill 
permitting sale of the lands to commercial interests. Pending legislation 
in the United States Congress, if passed, would have the effect of permitting 
this. 
Presently, the canal is under the jurisdiction of the Division of Water- 
ways of the Illinois Department of Public Works. Planning recreational 
development would be a technical matter that would have to be carried 
out by the department, in consultation with interested governments and 
groups. Groups interested, however have made some recommendations that 
should be considered in canal development. One is that no leases on canal 
lands suitable for recreation should be granted to private interests. Restora- 
tion of the canal’s old locks at Lockport would make the waterway more 
useful to boaters and canoeists; replicas of the old canal boats could be 
used to take tourists on outings. The old canal offices at Lockport, built 
before 1846, already a state historical monument, could be used to present 
the history of the canal to visitors. Pollution should, of course, be eliminated 
and a general clean-up program carried out along the canal. Income from 
leases to users of canal lands should go into a fund for its development 
and maintenance, and other means of financing improvements should be 
scught. 
An organization called the Illinois & Michigan Canal Coordinating 
Committee — headed by Robert E. Sullivan and John M. Lamp, both of 
Lockport — has been getting technical assistance from the Open Lands 
Project. Gunnard A. Peterson, Project director, can be contacted at Welfare 
Council headquarters, 123 W. Madison St., Chicago 60602, for more informa- 
tion about the “Operation Greenstrip” weekend in May. 
USEFUL BOOK ITEMS NOW IN THE I.A.S. BOOKSTORE 
Attracting Birds To Your Back Yard (Beecher) SEZ 5 
New Handbook of Attracting Birds (McElroy) 4.00 
Exploring Our National Wildlife Refuges (Butcher) 6.50 
Bird Watching, Housing and Feeding (Schutz) Sh fe) 
Checklist Card—Birds of the Chicago Area SefonmslOc 
Distributional Check List of Birds of Illinois 25 
Young Naturalist’s Handbook 1.00 
Order by mail from I.A.S. Bookstore, c/o Peter Dring, 
9800 S. Willow Springs Rd., Willow Springs, Ill. 60480 
