Comment EI-24785
Received or sent (printed as 7/13/2016)
I am very concerned about the proposed Great Lakes Basin Railroad. I am 16 and have just became a counselor at Camp Shaw-waw-naw-see, which the railroad is proposed to run nearby. One of the main reasons I have enjoyed being at camp for the last 5 years is that it lets me get away from normal, hectic life. I've had the wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Camp Shaw, and the peaceful, picturesque mood it has created. The Great Lakes Basin railroad would undermine the decades old feeling of calmness present at Camp Shaw. The noise pollution cause by the railroad every 20 minutes, as predicted, would destroy the sense of disconnect from the rest of the world. At Camp Shaw, there are children who are as young as 7 spending up to 6 days there. For most, it's the longest they have ever been away form home. Many younger campers are homesick and it can be difficult for them to go to sleep. The noise pollution caused by the railroad would make matters worse and would keep younger campers up. Another reason the Great Lakes Basin railroad would be negative to my area would be its route over rock creek. This creek runs through the heart of Camp Shaw, and I pass over it nearly every day during the summer. It is beautiful and untouched, but the proposed railroad could change that. Several times a week, we usually bring campers who desire into the creek to play and beat the heat. We have to be careful though and avoid any whitewater rapids, and if it has rained recently, we cannot bring campers in because the water is too high and fast. The Great Lakes Basin railroad could make Rock Creek permanently too fast to go in. Any sort of changing to the landscape around the creek could have detrimental effects to the entire ecosystem and history of Rock Creek and Camp Shaw. Any change in the flow of the creek could destroy popular spots in the creeks such as several waterfalls and the many caves lining the creek which were once used by the Native Americans. I feel that the need for this railroad cannot be compared to the lifestyle and beauty it would destroy, not just at Camp Shaw-waw-naw-see, but to the entire extent of its proposed path. I just want to make sure my home away from home here at Camp Shaw won't be effected and destroy its 70 years of history.
Submitted by: Matthew Barwegen · Herscher, IL
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-24785 · back to the docket sheet