A VISION AND A PLAN
            When Freeport residents were surveyed on the Internet by city planners, Houseal Lavigne Associates, 45.7% out of 70 respondents cited “Parks and Open Space” as the #1 strength of Freeport. In another question about the primary advantage of living in Freeport, 73.6% out of 73 respondents listed “Parks and Recreation Activities”. And in still another question, “Parks and Open Space” were rated as “Good” by 90.4% of respondents.
            Just a gallon or two of gas can get you to parks, natural areas, and open space readily accessible in Freeport and Stephenson County. The Park Districts of Freeport, Lena, and Pearl City have been diligent about maintaining access to open areas and good recreational facilities. You can experience woodlands, ,prairies, nature preserves, wetlands and flood plains, waterways, rock formations, a bike trail through the countryside, access for paddling on the river, and well-cared for parks.
            The natural areas in the county abound with nature’s edges. “Very rich zones of biodiversity are often found in areas where two significantly different environmental features, such as forest and prairie, or wetland and prairie, abut each other and form distinct boundaries,” described by Alvin Smith and Barbara M. Smith in Illinois Steward, Winter 2009.
            As Freeport forges ahead making plans for the city, we might do well to heed the advice of Daniel Burnham who said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” 100 years ago, Daniel Burnham with chief assistant Edward Bennett drew up plans for the nature of Chicago that continue to inspire a Green movement. The Burnham plan inspired many achievements we recognize today such as Grant Park, the museum campus anchored by the Field Museum, and the construction of navy Pier.
            Just as notable, “Burnham’s recognition that ‘Human nature demands such simple and wholesome pleasures as come from roaming the woods’ was instrumental in popularizing the idea of preserving the region’s forested lands for their natural values rather than for development as manicured parks. To be sure, his plan also called for plenty of neighborhood and city parks linked by a system of tree-lined boulevards.” Arthur Melville Pearson, “Burnham Plan Centennial”, Outdoor Illinois, June 2009.
            Staying true to the city planners that have gone before and have developed beautiful parks and opens space, Freeport’s Plan can draw inspiration from the Burnham Plan by protecting natural lands and open space and planning for improvement of Freeport’s Yellow Creek and Pecatonica waterfronts.
You can find out more details about Freeport’s City Plan as they become available at www.houseallavigne,com/dnn/freeport. The complete results of the online survey can also be viewed on the website.  If you register, you can provide information and opinions related to the plan that is being proposed.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water
Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 06/11/09 (for publication on 06/20/09 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois). Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org