Comment EI-22950
Received or sent (printed as 5/23/2016)
I am writing OPPOSING the Great Lakes Basin Railroad project. There are many concerns with this project and I'm sure you are receiving plenty! May I talk about one that I have not heard much about at the many meetings I have attended? It concerns our beautiful Kankakee State Park. http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Parks/Pages/KankakeeRiver.aspx This is a gorgeous Park with walk trails, bike trails, and horse trails. There are picnic areas, camping grounds, boat launches, a playground for children, and trees and landscaping to complete the setting. It’s teeming with native plants and wildlife. Quiet and tranquil, there is something for everyone. There's even hunting allowed at certain times of the year, in certain areas. It’s a beautiful place! Now GLB wants to put 110 trains a day right through it! A beautiful State Park should NOT be cut in half with 110 trains a day! Or even one! Think about the repercussions to this serene area! First off, the GLB route itself will eliminate the hunting ground that is right off of Warner Bridge road, south of the river. All the noise and chaos of the construction itself will frighten away all the wildlife and change everything for them! From breeding habits to nests already in use, to habitual paths taken by them through the park. There is even Bald Eagle nests in there and they are a Federally protected bird. There will be a great loss of life. Isn’t wildlife and natural habitat what a park is all about? Protecting nature within a State Park should be of the utmost importance. On the South side of the Kankakee River, right off of Rt. 113, is our horseback riding area of the Kankakee State Park. This is horse country! And the Kankakee State Park is frequented by hundreds of riders every year. There are beautiful paths and wet lands within the Park. Wild animals dot the area giving our rides a ‘wilderness’ feel. It’s what we come here for! It’s quiet and beautiful and close to nature. A special place like this should never be disturbed! Drive down Warner Bridge road and cross the river and you will see yellow Horse Crossing signs. Our horse trails continue on the west side as we carefully cross Warner Bridge Road. It’s difficult as it is crossing a fairly busy road, but with patience on our part and the courtesy of drivers, it is done. How will we ever get across with a train overhead?? Or even get near the road! Everyone knows that horses are a flight animal and something like a train (which most of our horses have never seen!) racing by at speeds of up to 70mph and every 13 minutes, will be impossible. Yes, every 13 minutes! That may not happen at the onset of the building of this train track, but that is their ultimate goal with this monstrous project. It will ruin our Park! To allow this to destroy a State Park is just sacrilegious! There are even some Indian burial grounds there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kankakee_River_State_Park Please don’t allow our beautiful park to be destroyed by Great Lakes Basin Railroad! We live in this community and love our Park! We love everything out here! This project will destroy our homes, our land, our animals and our way of life. Please oppose the Great Lakes Basin Railroad Project!! Sharon Zagorski 37340 Mack Road Custer Park, Illinois 60481 815 405 4251 Horseluv53@aol.com
Submitted by: sharon zagorski · custer park, ILLINOIS
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35952/comment/EI-22950 · back to the docket sheet