16 ToHeE® —A-U- DU: B°ONS 38 Useless 
STATE'S COMPREHENSIVE TOUR GUIDE IS SET 
A 16-page, 4-color, glossy paper tourism brochure, published by the 
Tourism Division of the Illinois Department of Business/Economic 
Development is ready for public distribution. The colorful, “highly 
pictorial’ folder lists historic sites, scenic attractions, recreational facil- 
ities, special events, and architectural examples in each of five regions 
of Illinois—north, south, central, west and Chicago metropolitan area 
—and is the state’s first comprehensive tourism brochure. It can be 
obtained by writing to: Division of Tourism, Dept. of Business & Eco- 
nomic Development, 222 S. College Ave., Springfield (62706). 
An Incident at Starved Rock State Park 
On Sunday, May 26, whiie strolling back from Aurora Canyon, we were 
shocked to find a small girl, accompanied by her mother and her small sister, 
had gathered some of the finest Columbines one could likely see at Starved 
Rock. We tried to point out in a gentle manner that wild flowers are pro- 
tected by law, that other hikers will never see the flowers she picked, and 
that they will soon die anyway. 
A few minutes later, we noticed a teen-age girl wearing a Columbine in 
her lapel and advised her that it was illegal to pick. She wanted to know 
when the law was passed and we advised her it was more than a half cen- 
tury ago. 
About two minutes later, we were greatly upset to see a twenty-five 
year old mother strolling with her young daughter, and both of them had 
May-Apples in their hands. 
We thought we could overlook this matter since there seemed to be so 
many May-Apples around. We made a mistake. As we rounded the bend, 
there in front of us was the young mother picking up a rare yellow plant 
which we thought may have been a wild primrose. She pulled up the flower 
by the roots and clasped it to her bosom. We were really outraged by then. 
We tried to tell her husband that though there was a heavy fine, it was a 
moral crime to pick up a wildflower in a state park. He said nothing. The 
woman refused our pleas to return the flower and roots back to the soil, 
pointing out that it could still likely be saved. 
We tried to find a warden or a ranger or a naturalist. None were to be 
located. When we did find several, they were directing traffic. (Perhaps this 
is an important function. If this state had any aggressive conservation leader- 
ship, we could likely have college botany students working as naturalists in 
our busiest parks over weekends.) 
The park literature fail to note anywhere that it is illegal to pick wild- 
flowers. In many entrances to canyons and trails, there are no signs, urging 
protection for wildflowers. The literature of the Starved Rock Lodge fails 
to advise visitors that wildflowers are protected by law. Clearly, Illinois 
fails in its education task. Many urban visitors know little of why parks 
were established in the first place. We hope all Audubon members will be 
outspoken when they see vandals destroying our parks. 
—Mrs. I. L. Mostek 
