From: Rebecca D. Stanfield, Environment Illinois State Director

< RebeccaS@environmentillinois.org>

Thank you for writing your legislators last week in support of full funding for Illinois's vanishing parks and open spaces. Now we need your help to stop a threat to state parks that emerged in the legislature's eleventh hour:

A company called the Toney Watkins Company wants 2000 acres in the middle Pyramid State Park, Illinois's largest park area, to build a theme park resort similar to Branson, Missouri.

Never before has Illinois sold state parkland for private development, and we shouldn't start now, especially with an unscrutinized proposal from a previously unknown company. Please take a moment to write to your legislators and urge them to oppose the Pyramid Park Land Swap.

To take action, click on the link below or copy and paste it into your web browser: https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/preservation/pyramidpark?id4=ES

Then ask your friends and family to help by forwarding this email to them.

BACKGROUND

Located in Perry County in southern Illinois, Pyramid Park is Illinois's largest state recreation area.  The parcel of land sought was purchased in 2001 under Open Land Trust program and has been restored as grasslands habitat. Last year, the National Audubon Society designated Pyramid Park an Important Bird Area because several endangered and threatened species, such as Henslow's sparrow, have returned and thrive there.

In exchange for the parkland, Toney Watkins Company is offering an similarly-sized parcel it owns, but the offered land is the site of former strip mine and has never been reclaimed or restored. Moreover the land the company wants is right in the middle of Pyramid Park, so that what is now one contiguous park would be split into three separate parcels.

According to the Southern Illinoisan, Toney Watkins Company was established for the sole purpose off establishing the resort in Pyramid Park and has no track record of successfully completed projects.  Although the Park is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the agency only recently became aware that a proposed amendment to House Bill 29 would authorize the land swap. Neither DNR nor the state's environmental groups have had opportunity to fully analyze the environmental impact of the proposal.

Never before has Illinois sold state parkland for private development, and we shouldn't start now, especially with an unscrutinized proposal from a previously unknown company.  Please take a moment to write to your legislator and tell them to oppose the Pyramid Park Land Swap.

To view the Southern Illinoisan article, visit:
http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2007/06/12/opinions/guest_columns/20563745.txt

To take action, click on the link below or copy and paste it into your web browser: https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/preservation/pyramidpark?id4=ES

Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Environment Illinois State Director - RebeccaS@environmentillinois.org - http://www.environmentillinois.org

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