4 TH Ee ASUD UB OONGE EVs ie Geena 
THE INSTILLATION of a “con- 
servation ethic” in Illinois — a 
sense of respect for land as the 
basic resource progenitor and sup- 
port of all life — is perhaps the 
prime long-range goal. “It’s what 
farmers feel as ‘land stewardship’,” 
says Dean. “It involves all people 
— not just the people who work on 
the land.” 
Dean feels the “conservation 
ethic” must be clearly defined 
within the Department, so _ that 
management divisions harmonize 
their efforts in presenting pro- 
grams to the public with unified 
goals. “Educating the public to- 
ward a conservation ethic is a gi- 
gantic task,” Dean acknowledges, 
“but it is becoming more feasible 
concurrently ‘with public accept- 
ance of the knowledge that re- 
sources are, indeed, limited and 
with public insistence that greater 
conservation measures be taken.” 
Dean feels that continued acqui- 
sition of lands, for park and con- 
servation purposes, is. virtually 
necessary. “Lands for conservation 
purposes embrace a variety of ul- 
timate dedication — all the way 
from intensive people-oriented rec- 
reational use to wildlife refuges to 
nature preserves. The latter, of 
course, are dedicated for preserva- 
tion of their unique resource values 
and, therefore, public use is neces- 
sarily limited.” 
THE DIRECTION of land ac- 
quisition and utilization is under- 
going change under Dean. He hopes 
to provide more recreation areas by 
encouraging gifts of land to the 
state for that purpose, and he is 
attempting to speed up the some- 
times lengthy processes by which 
land is acquired. Dean is examining 
steps in budgetary and department- 
al controls in an effort to shorten 
the time between the decision to 
buy and the actual ultimate public 
use of an acreage. 
“Development of property has 
lagged behind acquisition,” says 
Dean, “And we are proceeding now 
on the premise that small tracts 
can be opened up piecemeal for 
public use before the entire acreage 
is available.” 
Personnel responsibilities in land 
use are being extended in the 
Parks, Law Enforcement, Forestry, 
Wildlife and Fisheries Divisions. 
“Our biggest asset in practical con- 
servation lies in the work potential 
of our field people,” the director 
states. “They are being encouraged 
to make personal contacts with 
property owners in efforts to con- 
vince them to open private woods, 
ponds and wildlife areas to public 
use.” 
“VOLUNTEER” acres thus ob- 
tained by field personnel could 
greatly relieve pressures on over- 
crowded parks and conservation 
areas which now exist, as well as 
those being planned and acquired 
for future use. The program is not 
unlike one which has been highly 
successful in Pennsylvania. 
A program such as this would not 
only prove beneficial in adding 
more public use acres, but it would 
aid in the continual efforts to up- 
grade personnel performance and 
morale in the Department. “With 
active participation in the obtain- 
ing of private land for public use, 
whether by outright acquisition or 
by voluntary cooperation, person- 
nel in all parts of the state can feel 
that same sense of personal satis- 
faction and accomplishment that is 
a necessary adjunct of pride in any 
profession,” says Dean. 
The work of the Historic Sites 
Survey will be continued and, 
hopefully, completed during this 
administration. The recording of 
Illinois locations of historic signi- 
ficance in architecture, archaeo- 
logy, or simply as landmarks will 
be carried through to nominations 
