DOCSLIB.ORG

Final Report River Forest, IL: Forest Preserve District of Cook County

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Final Report River Forest, IL: Forest Preserve District of Cook County holes and routing of trails may help minimize conflict and should work closely with lessees to ensure an optimal mix of safety problems and expand facility use. In other cases, public access with other uses and considerations. Incentives, time-of-day, day-of-week, or seasonal zoning may accom- cost sharing with other units of government and the private plish similar objectives in the sharing of resource use. sector, technical assistance, and other tools could be used to help implement these forward-looking policies. • By the same token, some managers saw a need and oppor- tunity to expand the nature and wildlife benefits that golf Our findings also showed that a significant amount of public courses and active use parks currently provide. The Forest lands in the Chicago River corridor are the focus of intensive Preserve District of Cook County, for example, is looking programs of ecological management and restoration. Public at ways in which the river edge along their golf course agencies, in cooperation with volunteer restoration and other properties can be re-landscaped to enhance wildlife habi- stewardship groups, are helping make the corridor a model tat, restore native plant communities, and reduce fertilizer for urban ecosystem management through some of the most and runoff into the river system. Similarly, municipal park innovative programs in the nation. The lessons learned from managers are increasingly sensitive to water quality and managing suburban forest preserve properties are being native plant community issues, and are engaging in some applied in some urban parks and private open spaces, but small scale restoration projects in active use parks. surely more could be done. For example, restoration projects Mentioned in the previous section, the Gompers Park underway in the City of Chicago at Gompers Park and Urban Resources Partnership/ChicagoRivers demonstra- Beaubien Forest Preserve through the ChicagoRivers/Urban tion project is a prime example of a project that is attempt- Resource Partnership demonstration projects are steps in this ing to expand nature-related benefits in the context of direction. They not only hold tremendous value for enhanc- active recreational use. ing urban open space as functioning ecosystems, but can also provide essential nearby nature experiences for urban resi- dents. Private open space, particularly in the northern head- PART V CONCLUSIONS water sections of the corridor, also plays a critical role in sus- This chapter examined the supply of recreation and open taining the overall system in terms of water quality, biological space opportunities in the Chicago River corridor from three diversity, wildlife habitat, aesthetics, recreation, and other val- perspectives: who provides them, what they are and where ues. Innovative development projects such as the Techny site they are located, and how they can be increased in the con- on the West Fork can be used as models for blending ecologi- text of other values and uses. To address these perspectives, cal management with private development, as well as for we spoke with resource experts representing diverse user public access and use. Lessons learned from these public and and interest groups, and compiled relevant secondary materi- private attempts at ecological management and restoration als from many different sources. The picture resulting from need to be applied on other public and private sites. In this these efforts is very encouraging, yet significant challenges respect, important opportunities exist for golf courses along must be faced before many of the plans and proposals the river, which account for significant acreage on the upper described in these pages can be successfully realized. forks of the North Branch. Even if open space is not all pub- licly accessible for active recreational use, it can provide pub- RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE PROVIDERS licly valued ecological roles. Study findings showed that the Chicago River corridor has a The importance of partnerships established between the wide range of recreation and open space providers, as well as public and not-for-profit sectors in accomplishing recreation- other landowners and lessees that contribute to its appeal al and open space goals cannot be overstated. As identified in and vitality. Public ownership of corridor lands is significant, this report, the diverse activities of not-for-profit groups in and while the metropolitan area has benefited greatly from the corridor range from hands-on land and water manage- the foresight of the creators of the county forest preserve dis- tricts, perhaps the most significant opportunities for future ment to recreation, preservation, education, and economic recreation and open space enhancement can be found on the development. As federal and state funds for public land acqui- extensive land holdings of the Metropolitan Water sition and management programs continue to shrink, local Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. As the MWRD artic- and regional public agencies will no doubt have to rely ulates its recently expanded policy of multiple use, particular- increasingly on the not-for-profit sector to accomplish activi- ly with respect to public access on leased properties, broad ties they once did on their own. Public agencies are fortunate goals need to be addressed within the constraints and condi- to have a not-for-profit infrastructure already developed that tions of present land uses at particular sites. Our interviews functions in many parts of the corridor, and for agencies that with industrial land lessees showed significant reservations don’t, many models exist for transport to new locations. about public access across property for reasons of cost, safe- Public agencies can work to help organize constituencies, ty, and security. These cautions extended to public agency and regional not-for-profits can help develop local groups to lessees as well in terms of future lease conditions that call for address specific issues and concerns. Both sectors can removing fencing and regrading the banks to bring people increase volunteer participation by tailoring involvement closer to the river. As leases are renewed under the River activities to better meet the social, recreational, aesthetic, Renaissance and North Shore Channel Criteria, the MWRD and other values that people seek in activity participation. 146 CHICAGORivers: PEOPLE AND THE RIVER Study findings also showed that private sector companies not These activities include a diverse amalgam of opportunities, directly concerned with recreation and open space none- from birding to hunting to restoration of historic buildings theless can play an important role in providing corridor and ecologically significant landscapes. The Chicago River recreation and open space opportunities. Excellent models corridor contains some of the most significant opportunities exist in the corridor of private industries who have improved of this kind in the metropolitan region, state, and in some the aesthetics of their riverbank property and some who cases, the nation. More importantly, as initiatives such as The have worked closely with local units of government to plan Nature Conservancy’s biodiversity initiative and the Lake for and provide public access across their property for trails Calumet Ecological Park are implemented, they can become and riverwalks. Guidelines formulated for the downtown national models of how we can ensure a more harmonious sections of the Chicago River have made a positive impact, coexistence between people and nature in urban areas. and corresponding guidelines are now being developed for other inland waterways in the city. These guidelines hold the RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE ISSUES key to future recreation and open space development in the AND CONCERNS city, as vacant industrial parcels along the South Branch are Although plenty of possibilities exist for increasing recreation converted to new uses, and as industrial areas along the and open space opportunities in the corridor, care must be North Branch are modernized. Similar opportunities to pro- taken to integrate them with other corridor values, including tect shoreland open space values now exist in the rapidly economic and environmental values. Most we spoke with developing north suburban areas, and the many communities showed a high level of enthusiasm for more trails, boating, along these reaches can play a key role in guiding private fishing, and natural and cultural activities, but they were also development, from improving landscaping to dedicating concerned about user conflicts, limitations in access, safety riverwalks. As one current example, the Village of Glenview and security, loss of economic livelihood, and potential dam- is improving the riverfront in its downtown area and is work- age to land and water resources. These issues and concerns ing with adjacent communities in developing a greenway were spelled out in detail by the resource experts, but so riverwalk along the West Fork of the North Branch. were many creative and workable recommendations and solutions for minimizing potential problems. Among such RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE OPPORTUNITIES recommendations were informational campaigns to raise A major contribution of this study was a fairly comprehensive public awareness of the resource and responsibility for its inventory of recreation and open space opportunities cur- protection; technological or environmental modifications to rently available in each reach of the corridor, as well
Load more

Recommended publications
  • National Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment
    national trail feasibility study and environmental assessment ILLINOIS NATIONAL TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ILLINOIS TRAIL September 1987 U.S. Department of the Interior I National Park Service ADDlllDUM - S1JMMlRY C1I COSTS AID &LLOClTIOR FOR TBB PROPOSAL V runi ILLiliOl~ AND MI~HIQAN NH 11111..ltiQl~ CORRlDQR NPS Administration $26,000 PA $30,000 PA State of Illinois Acquisition and development of five recreational $ 62 ,ooo access sites Acquisition and development of $411,000 land trail Development of interpretive markers $200,000 al Operation and main- tenance of five $ 25,000 PA recreational access sites Operation and ma.in- $362 ,000 PA tenance of land trail $417,000 TOTAL ANNUAL COST $ 26,000 $ 62,000 $411 ,ooo TOTAL ONE TIME COST $200,000 u 1L This addendum has been prepared to clarify the allocation presented in the costs of the proposed report tables on pages 35 and 38 of the Illinois Trail. aL This cost may be shared with other entities participating in the project including the State and local units of government. SUMMARY This study for the Illinois Trail examines the feasibility and desirabil;t\ of establishing, as a component of the national trails system, a trail "extending from the Lewis and Clark Trail at Wood River, Illinois, to the Chicago Portage National Historic Site, generally fol lowing the 111 i noi s Riv er and the 111 inois and Michigan Canal. 11 A proposed trai I could be authorized as either a national scenic trail or as a national historic trail. An evaluation of the significance of the scenic·, recreational, natural, and cultural resources along the study route and the historic use of the 1llinois Waterway concluded that the route meets the criteria for both national scenic and national historic trails.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old Chicago Portage 53 W
    THE OLD CHICAGO PORTAGE 53 W. JACKSON 30ULlV 16]} - 1836 ~HICAGO. IlliNOIS 60(. By 427.4256 Edward T. Bilek, Jr. '. ::r"In e Z~ /fb 7 About 25,000 years ago a huge glacier crept forward from Canada into the Chicago region. As this ~'i'e sheet advanced southward;. it carried with it the rocks and soil it found in its path. Further north this glacier presented a solid block of ice across the continent. Later the glacier receeded in stages, leaving its accumulation behind. Each time it paused in·its recession great quantities of debris piled up at its edge forming big land ridges when the ... ice disilPpeared: Thus the Valparaiso Moraine, a rim of land paral!lelling the margin of Lake l1ichigan, waS formed in the northeastern corner of Illinois. ., '·Water collected in· the gorge hollowed out by the ice bettleen· the glacier and ··the moraine·until reaching a level of sixty feet above the present level of Lake Michigan, A massive glacial lake WaS now born,. Lake Chicago. Draining through a gap in the Valparaiso }loraine called the Chicago or Des Plaines outlet, the flow of water from Lake Chicago traveled down the Des Plaines Valley to the Illinois River Valley, The recession of the glacier·and the ·lowering of· the floor of the Chicago Outlet removed the b"arrier that with- held the flow of water previously ~ Lake ~h~cago nOll receeded into three separate ~tages. The Glenwood stage where the water level vas fifty feet above the lake; the Calumet st,:g~ where t1>e "·Iater was' thirty-five feet above the lake; and the Tolleston stage whi.ch was tllenty feet above the lake.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chicago Portage
    The Chicago Portage Background: In 1673, French-Canadian explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet passed through the area known by trappers and traders as “Checagou.” The Chicago Portage is a water gap that connects the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, and is one reason Chicago became a strategic point in the continent. 1848 saw the arrival of a major rail connection to Chicago, as well as the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M), creating a waterway connection between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes for the first time in history. The I&M Canal would serve the Chicago area for nearly fifty years, facilitating the rebuilding after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. However, the canal soon became too small for the growing demands of the region and so the Sanitary and Ship Canal was opened in 1900. Not only did the Sanitary and Ship Canal increase waterway capacity, but it also reversed the flow of the Chicago River to its current direction, away from Lake Michigan. This canal, part of the Illinois Waterway System under control of the US Army Corps of Engineers, is still used today. Resources Used: http://www.loc.gov/item/2004629031/ http://www.loc.gov/item/2001624908/ http://www.loc.gov/item/2003627092/ http://www.loc.gov/item/2002626428/ Activity 1: Linking Lake to River Examine the maps of the Midwest. With what you know about early American settlement, why would a connection between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River be desired in the first place? What sort of difficulties would explorers and traders have experienced in the 1600s? Much like during the expeditions of Lewis and Clark, the interior of the American continent was unknown to explorers.
    [Show full text]
  • An Urban Political Ecology of the Loop and Bridgeport in Chicago Garrett Hc Arles Wolf Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2012 A city and its river: an urban political ecology of the Loop and Bridgeport in Chicago Garrett hC arles Wolf Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Wolf, Garrett hC arles, "A city and its river: an urban political ecology of the Loop and Bridgeport in Chicago" (2012). LSU Master's Theses. 2794. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2794 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CITY AND ITS RIVER: AN URBAN POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF THE LOOP AND BRIDGEPORT IN CHICAGO A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Garrett Wolf B.L.A., Louisiana State University, 2010 B.A., Louisiana State University, 2011 May 2012 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Rowe, the other members of my committee Dr. Colten and Dr. Mathewson, Louisiana State University, the Department of Geography and Anthropology for supporting my scholarly efforts and the West-Russell Travel Award for helping to fund my research.
    [Show full text]
  • Traveling by Water Across Illinois from the 17Th Century to the 20Th Century.” a Paper Read at the Midwest History Association, St
    “Traveling by Water Across Illinois from the 17th Century to the 20th Century.” A paper read at the Midwest History Association, St. Louis, Mo., 1989. 218 Traveling by Water Across Illinois from the 17th Century to the 20th Century John M. Lamb The rivers have been, since the Europeans first touched these shores, a path to the interior, a reminder of Europe and a gate to the wilderness. But with settlement and development, different concepts of the river began to emerge, and it was shunted to the background except insofar as it can be used for transportation. In order to better serve that end, it had to be manipulated, dammed, locked, leveled and controlled. In 1602 James Rosier sailed up what was apparently the St. George River in Maine and described it as “...the most rich, beautiful, large and secure harboring river that the world affordth.” He went on to say that “...on its banks was good ground pleasant and fertile, ...fit for pasture through which it flowed.” There was power for mills and “...branching streams...whereby is afforded an unspeakable profit by the conveniency of transportation from place to place...and by shipping to bring in all traffic of merchandise, a benefit always accounted the richest treasury to any land.” He compared it to the Thames, the Seine, the Bordeaux and the Loire.1 I want to examine a river in the interior of America which was seen by its earliest European viewers as a waterway to adventure and the exploitation of the interior of America. This river was the Illinois, which for over three hundred years has been seen as many different things and had expanded and receded in the consciousness of the inhabitants on its banks accordingly.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    i ABSTRACT This report outlines the research methods and results of a study completed by the staff at Archaeological Research, Inc., Chicago office in fulfillment of a contract with the Chicago District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Archaeological Research, Inc. was required to complete a Literature Overview of the historic landscape included in the National Register of Historic Places property known as the “Chicago Portage Site. “ This landscape was first considered a significant historic property due to its association with seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French exploration and fur trade. The results of this investigation and overview assert that there is no evidence to suggest that this property is significant for this reason. This report will show that this historic landscape is significant because of its association with prehistoric archaeological sites and features and early nineteenth century American fur trade and settlement. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All Archaeological Research, Incorporated staff members undertook to complete this project. As the reader will discover, this overview document reflects the varied research expertise and concerns of all that worked toward its completion and we have allowed this variability to remain evident within the report. We would have never been able to complete this document, moreover, without the assistance and guidance of a number of colleagues. First we would like to thank Keith Ryder, archaeologist for the Chicago District of the Army Corps of Engineers. He read through and corrected a number of drafts of this report and made suggestions and comments that helped us make this a good readable document that can be used by various government bodies and citizen groups.
    [Show full text]
  • I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Interpretive Plan 2005
    I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Interpretive Plan 2005 Prepared by: Canal Corridor Association Primary Author: Ron Vasile, Historian Contributors: Diane Banta Ana B. Koval Laurie Scott Acknowledgements Funding for this report has been provided by the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission through the Department of Interior. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U. S. Government. Mention of trade names and commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U. S. Government. The staff of the former I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission (Phyllis Ellin, Mary Tano, Roger Gasa, Connie Piazza) were helpful in gathering materials for this report. A draft of the corridor themes was produced by Canal Corridor Association and Barbara Levy and Associates. People throughout the corridor sent information on their sites and or programs as noted on the site inventory forms. These include: The Canallers in the Corridor; Lake Katherine Nature Preserve; Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie; Isle a la Cache Museum; Joliet Iron Works Historic Site; Hogan Grain Elevator; Illinois Waterway Visitor Center; Slovenian Heritage Museum; Worth Park District Historical Museum; Hegeler Carus Mansion; Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center and others. I&M Canal NHC Interpretive Plan, Canal Corridor Association, 2005 Table of Contents Part I: Status of Interpretation.........................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Portage 53 W
    THE OLD CHICAGO PORTAGE 53 W. JACKSON BOULEV 1673 - 1836 C.HlCAGO, ILLINOIS 60c By 427-4256 Edward T . Bilek, Jr. lane ZS ^JC(07 About 25,000 years ago a huge glacier crept forward from Canada into the Chicago region. As this ice sheet advanced southward;. it carried with it the rocks and soil it found in its path. Further north this glacier presented a .solid block of ice across the continent. Later the glacier receeded in stages, leaving its accumulation behind. Each time it paused in'its recession great quantities of debris piled up at its edge forming big land ridges when the .ice disappeared. Thus the Valparaiso Moraine, a rim of land parallelling the margin of Lake Michigan, was formed in the northeastern corner of Illinois. 'Water collected in the gorge.hollowed out by the ice between the glacier and the moraine until reaching a level of sixty feet above the present level of Lake Michigan. A massive glacial lake was now born, Lake Chicago. Draining through a gap in the Valparaiso Moraine called the Chicago or Des Plaines outlet; the flow of water from Lake Chicago traveled down the Des Plaines Valley to the Illinois River Valley. The recession of the glacier and the lowering of-the floor of the Chicago Outlet removed the barrier that with- held the flow of water previously. Take ChIcago now receeded into three separate atages. The Glenwood stage where the water level was fifty feet above the lake; the Calumet stage where the'water was thirty-five feet above the lake; and the Tolleston stage which was twenty feet above the lake.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago: the Hydraulic City and Its Enviornmental Impact
    “Chicago: The Hydraulic City and its Environmental Impact.” A paper delivered at the 15th Annual Illinois History Symposium of the Illinois State Historical Society, December 2, 1994. Chicago: The Hydraulic City and Its Environmental Impact John M. Lamb First of all, what is a hydraulic city? It is one that is created with a close connection to waterways. It is created in the sense that its water connections are not natural but have to be made. It is a city that uses water for transportation on inland rivers and canals as well as on larger bodies of water, in this case, the Great Lakes. It draws its water for drinking and sewerage from the same sources that it uses for transportation. It also designs its waterways for hydraulic power. Also, the hydraulic city is very conscious of military defenses, which by extension it sees as related to its water transportation, so it has a hydraulic concept of military defense. As to the environment, I do not mean environmental depredations, but rather the need for extensive changes via engineering to create harbors, inland transportation routes, sanitation and drinking needs, as well as hydraulic power. As a result, rivers are reversed, canals dug, harbors created, and a variety of other engineering projects are involved in the creation of the hydraulic city. All of the projects are intimately related; they create an indissoluble infrastructure. In the case of Chicago, it meant creating a river harbor and an inland transportation canal, the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It also meant creating a huge canal for sewage disposal, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, and a system of tunnels and intake cribs to obtain fresh water.
    [Show full text]
  • Open PDF File
    REACHES 8 AND 9 and recreational craft can make paddling difficult, and the CHICAGO SANITARY AND SHIP CANAL vertical shoreline along much of the canal makes it difficult to get out of the water if there is a problem. The Forest RESOURCE CHARACTER Preserve District of Cook County does not provide any devel- oped access to the canal, and if it did, that access would most Location: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal begins at likely be oriented to powerboats. However, the district has Damen Avenue and the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) developed a 14.4-mile water trail on the adjacent Des Plaines in Chicago, and runs for nearly 30 miles in a southwesterly River from its Stony Ford Preserve, just north of the Chicago direction through the City of Chicago and suburbs of Portage, to Lemont, which provides an attractive alternative Stickney, Forest View, Lyons, Summit, Bedford Park, Justice, for canoeists and kayakers. The water trail is part of the I&M Willow Springs, Lemont, and Romeoville (Figure 4.5) The Canal National Heritage Corridor, and the district has three canal terminates in Lockport, where it joins the Des Plaines launching sites along the route. Paddlers can continue down River. Construction of the canal began in 1892 and was com- the Des Plaines to visit historic sites at Isle a la Cache and pleted in 1907. The northern end of the canal joins the South Lockport. Branch of the Chicago River, where a portion of the original channel of the South Branch was filled in and its flow was The Sanitary and Ship Canal has become more popular in reversed to carry wastewater and barge traffic.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicagoland Geology and the Making of a Metropolis
    Chicagoland Geology and the Making of a Metropolis Field Excursion for the 2005 Annual Meeting Association of American State Geologists June 15, 2005 Michael J. Chrzastowski Open File Series OFS 2005-9 Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor Illinois Department of Natural Resources Joel Brunsvold, Director ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William W. Shilts, Chief 97th Annual Meeting St. Charles Illinois AASG Sponsors The Illinois State Geological Survey and the Association of American State Geologists gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following organizations and individuals as sponsors of the 2005 Annual Meeting in St. Charles, Illinois. Diamond Sponsors ($5,000 or more) Isotech Laboratories, Champaign, Illinois (Dennis D. Coleman, President and Laboratory Director) Preston Exploration (Arthur F. Preston) Gold Sponsors ($1,000 or more) Bi-Petro (John F. Homeier, President) Illinois Oil and Gas Association William F. Newton Podolsky Oil Company (Bernard Podolsky, President) U.S. Silica Company Silver Sponsors ($500 or more) Anonymous James S. and Barbara C. Kahn Shabica and Associates (Charles Shabica) Excursion Bus Hosts Michael J. Chrzastowski Daniel J. Adomaitis Chicagoland Geology and the Making of a Metropolis Field Excursion for the 2005 Annual Meeting Association of American State Geologists June 15, 2005 Michael J. Chrzastowski Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor Illinois Department of Natural Resources Joel Brunsvold, Director ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William W. Shilts, Chief 615 East Peabody Drive Champaign, Illinois 61820-6964 217-244-2414 www.isgs.uiuc.edu “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.” Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846–1912) Architect for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held at Chicago and lead author of the 1909 Plan of Chicago.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chicago Portage
    The Chicago Portage Background: In 1673, French-Canadian explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet passed through the area known by trappers and traders as “Checagou.” The Chicago Portage is a water gap that connects the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, and is one reason Chicago became a strategic point in the continent. 1848 saw the arrival of a major rail connection to Chicago, as well as the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M), creating a waterway connection between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes for the first time in history. The I&M Canal would serve the Chicago area for nearly fifty years, facilitating the rebuilding after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. However, the canal soon became too small for the growing demands of the region and so the Sanitary and Ship Canal was opened in 1900. Not only did the Sanitary and Ship Canal increase waterway capacity, but it also reversed the flow of the Chicago River to its current direction, away from Lake Michigan. This canal, part of the Illinois Waterway System under control of the US Army Corps of Engineers, is still used today. Maps referenced in this activity: Marquette (1673) Franquelin (1682) L’Isle (1718) Arrowsmith (1814) IL Waterway (HABS) Links: http://www.loc.gov/item/2004629031/ http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700.ct000666/ http://www.loc.gov/resource/g4042m.rb000005/ http://www.loc.gov/resource/g4042m.ct000784/ For the 17th Century French explorers, much like during the expeditions of Lewis and Clark, the interior of the American continent was an unknown territory.
    [Show full text]