2 tHE A. UD: U.B:OiNVB UL Db heii 
panion bills (among them HR 3300) 
which would provide for Hooker 
Dam on the Gila River in South- 
western New Mexico. The Hooker 
Dam would back water as much 
as nine miles into the famed Gila 
Wilderness, which was first estab- 
lished in 1924 through the leader- 
ship of Dr. Aldo Leopold. The Gila 
area was the first area to be dedi- 
cated under the provisions of the 
National Wilderness Preservation 
Act. Local exceptions to the Wil- 
derness Act can destroy its value. 
Already plans are under way to 
flood, via dams, the Bob Marshall 
Wilderness area in Montana, the 
High Uintas in Utah, and the Flat 
Tops Wilderness in Colorado. 
The Gila River Gorge is steep 
and narrow, which limits its re- 
creation value. Conservationists are 
urging that an alternate down- 
stream site, the Connor area, be 
used as a substitute. The Hooker 
Dam at the Gila Gorge would de- 
stroy fisheries and wildlife habi- 
tat. This dam is being planned by 
the Bureau of Reclamation. The 
President may authorize a dam in 
a wilderness area, only if it is 
clearly in the national interest, 
according to the 1964 Wilderness 
Act. The Hooker Dam would be 
used for industrial purposes by a 
single private corporation. It seems 
senseless to destroy a dedicated 
wild area for the benefit of stock- 
holders of a private concern when 
alternate sites are available only 
25 miles away. It is reported that 
conservationists are not only busily 
writing their own local congress- 
men on this vital matter but that 
Wayne Aspinall, chairman of the 
House Interior Committee, House 
Office Bldg., Washington, is also 
receiving sacks full of mail. 
Fox River Canyon: The Fox 
River in Illinois, between Wedron 
and Norway, is one of the most 
attractive in the state. Here the 
river is “free-flowing.” It is blessed 
with bluffs and river plains. Along 
the stream, one can sight many 
birds including woodpeckers and 
herons. Among the groups seeking 
to preserve the area is the Kane 
County Clean Streams Committee, 
headed by IAS member Phil Chap- 
man of Geneva. Other groups in- 
terested are the Open Lands Pro- 
ject (53 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago), 
the Prairie Club, and the Sierra 
Club. The Board of Directors of 
Illinois Audubon Society has urged 
that the area remain free. 
The area is threatened under old 
plans to build a series of dams on 
the Fox River to provide wide open 
boating from Fox Lake to the Illi- 
nois River. The area is_ also 
threatened by silica mining inter- 
ests. The oldest living thing in 
Illinois—a cedar tree more than a 
thousand years old, and recently 
discovered in this river canyon— 
was destroyed by vandals (calling 
themselves men) who were armed 
with electric portable saws. A re- 
cent rally in Aurora, to stimulate 
public discussion of the river can- 
yon drew a crowd of some 250 
persons. 
Allerton Park: Almost 1,500 at- 
tended a hike and rally on March 
30 to see for themselves the pro- 
posed destruction of this famed 
baronial gift of 1,500 acres to the 
State of Illinois by the late Robert 
Allerton. Under plans of the U.S. 
Corps of Engineers and supported 
by the Decatur Chamber of Com- 
merce and Congressman William 
Springer, the park would suffer 
the loss of its bottomland forest, 
