6 THEVAU DU BROWNs BY UL Gee 
of 114 acres of land adjacent to the park has asked that his land be re-zoned 
from residential to heavy industry status. Factories and other enterprises 
such as this re-zoning would permit would detract from the park. Mr. Glen 
Palmer attended the hearing on April 15th. He and others of the Conserva- 
tion Department opposed re-zoning, which might make the price of the land 
prohibitive for purchase as an addition to the park. The budget requested 
by the Department of Conservation for the next biennium includes funds 
for the above-mentioned land. Members of organizations were asked to 
write to the Lake County Zoning Board at Waukegan, Illinois, to protest 
the rezoning, and to the Conservation Department to urge purchase of ad- 
ditional land. 
The Elgin Audubon Society told of plans for the new toll road, which 
may cross Trout Park at Elgin. This small area contains remarkable native 
vegetation that would be needlessly destroyed. Letters to the Toll Road 
Commission might influence them to change the route of the road. 
Frank Marquis of the Izaak Walton League explained that the Hennepin 
Canal could be taken over by the state and established as a state park. This 
would furnish 104 miles of shore line for excellent fishing. -Conservation 
Council members were asked to cooperate on a number of the problems de- 
scribed. The first conference will be successful if the land near Illinois 
Beach State Park is not re-zoned, but instead is added to’ the park; if 
Trout Park at Elgin is saved; and if Hennepin Canal becomes a state park. 
Following the talks, the delegates enjoyed several films on conservation 
projects in Illinois. Many delegates, such as Dr. Strong of the Nature Con- 
servancy and Illinois Audubon Society; Mr. Milton Thompson of the Illinois 
State Museum, and others too numerous to mention, played an important 
part in making the first conservation conference in Illinois a success. 
On Sunday morning after the meeting, a number of delegates toured the 
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Gardens, a wildlife and plant refuge, and then 
walked along the shores of Lake Springfield. A large list of over 40 species 
of birds was observed. 
Before disbanding, the Illinois Conservation Council named the following 
officers to serve until the second conference, to be held in northern Illinois 
in October, 1955: 
Chairman — Raymond Mostek, Illinois Audubon Society 
Vice-Chairman—F rank Wilkenson, Illinois Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs 
Treasurer — Lucas Wrischnik, Cahokia Nature League 
Recording Secretary — Mrs. C. W. Russell, Decatur Audubon Society 
Corresponding Secretary — Mrs. Madeline Dorosheff, Springfield Nature 
League 
All of the delegates enthusiastically endorsed plans for future meetings 
and agreed that the Conservation Council provides opportunity for fruit- 
ful cooperation in wiser use of the natural resources of our state. 
R.R. #1, Box 246, Waukegan 
Ep. Note: Hazel Hurlbutt attended the conference as a delegate for the Illi- 
nois Dunesland Preservation Society. 
