erie ACG lolU) BrOgNees Bal lids uel WN, 
TODAY, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, our rivers and streams 
are threatened with virtual extinction. Under the guise of 
flood control and river basin ““development” the predacious 
bulldozer continues to straighten, widen, deepen, and dam 
our remaining natural waterways. Stream alteration, chan- 
nelization—just what do these terms mean? 
A “stream alteration” can be defined as the modifica- 
tion of any stream in any way. These modifications include 
dams, snagging, clearing, and channelization. 
Stream “channelization” is the changing of a stream into 
a ditch for the purpose of moving water more rapidly down- 
stream. These so-called “channel improvements” usually 
require the removal of all trees and other woody vegetation 
along each bank for distances of up to 100 feet so that 
the silt removed from the stream bed may be deposited. 
TWO FEDERAL AGENCIES, the Soil Conservation Service 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, must bear the major 
responsibility for the current crisis. For example, these two 
agencies, in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Authority, 
have plans to convert practically every tributary stream in 
Alabama into a man-made ditch. 
Here in Illinois, there are large “flood control” im- 
poundments planned for most of our remaining scenic 
rivers. One authority notes that “the several proposed 
reservoirs in illinois threaten many native (fish) species be- 
cause they are planned for some of the most valuable 
waterways left, and many of the unique aquatic habitats in 
the state will be lost if the streams are dammed.” 
The same authority also concluded that channelization 
was responsible for the destruction of fish habitat over 
extensive stretches of Illinois streams. Streams such as the 
Upper Shoal Creek, Skillet Fork, Kaskaskia River, lower 
reaches of the Embarras River, and the Saline River System 
are a few of the victims of appalling stream alterations in 
our state. 
LARGE IMPOUNDMENTS and channelization projects 
allow more land to be put into agriculture even though 
taxpayers are currently paying almost one billion dollars 
a year to keep land out of cultivation. The adverse environ- 
mental effects of channelization are many and some are 
listed below: 
@ Destruction of a fish habitat and lowered produc- 
tion of aquatic life. 
Pools and obstructions which provided cover and 
food are obliterated by the newly cleared shallow 
channel. 
