Proceedings 1995 Governor's Conference On the Management of the Illinois River System Fifth Biennial Conference October 10-11, 1995 Hotel P_re Marquette Peoria, Illinois Proceedings 1995 Governor's Conference On the Management of the Illinois River System Fifth Biennial Conference October 10-11, 1995 Hotel P_re Marquette Peoria, Illinois Elizabeth D. Wagner, Editor Institute for Environmental Studies Issued as Special Report No. 22 Water Resources Center Institute for Environmental Studies University of minois at Urbana-Champaign 1101 W. Peabody Dr., Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 333-0536 Photographsby Jon Hubbert, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture. Printed with financial support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. (450/February 1996) Printed on recycled paper. Contents Acknowledgments Opening Address Robert W. Frazee .............................................. 3 Keynote Speech Sharing the Challenge: Floodplain Management Into the 21st Century Brigadier General Gerald E. Galloway, Jr .............................. 7 Session L The Past Navigation on the Illinois Donald R. Vonnahme and Bruce Barker ............................. 19 Illinois Possesses Unique Knowledge About Its Weather and Climate Stanley A. Changnon ........................................... 29 A Century of Water Resources Research at the Illinois State Water Survey: Meeting the Challenge Mike Demissie, Vernon Knapp and Adrian Visocky ...................... 43 Forbes Biological Station Commemorates 100 Years of Research, S.P. Havera and K.E. Roat ....................................... 53 Keynote Speech Economic/mpact of the _linois River on River Communities David R. Allardice .. ...... 59 Session IL The Present An "NRI Snapshot" of Resource Conditions in the Illinois River Drainage Basin Robert McLeese .............................................. 75 nlinffts T by 2000 Transect Survey, 1995 Results Chet Boruff ................................................. 83 No-Till in the lllinois River Watershed Robert W. Frazee ............................................. 87 Mitigative Management Andrew C. French ............................................. 95 Sustainable Farming Systems: Implications for the/llinois River Valley Richard E, Warner ............................................. 99 iii Session IIL Local Initiatives Building Successful Partnerships and Volunteer Support for Scientific Studies of Sedimentation in the Kankakee River System Bill Byms . .......... 109 AmeriCorps and the Illinois RiverWatch Network Dana Curtiss ................................................ 117 Mackinaw River Partnership Mary Jo Adams ............................................. 119 Fox Waterway Agency Karen C. Kabbes ............................................. 121 Peoria Wilds -- the Role of Volunteers in Stewardship Efforts Chris Ryan ................................................. 123 Are Erosion Control Programs Reducing Sedimentation? D. P. Roseboom, R. Sinclair, Gary Eicken and Pat Woods ................. 129 Great Rivers Confluence Sarah F. Perkins ............................................. 139 Session IV. The Future Lt. Governors Illinois River Initiative Karen A. Witter ............................................. 147 Multi-Objective Watershed Planning: the Butterfield Creek Experience Peggy A. Glassford, Dennis W. Dreher and Robert M. Bartels .............. 153 Coordinated Resource Management: Shunning the Three "Shuns" Herb Manig 161 Economic Problems Facing Illinois River System Cities Norman Walzer ............................................. 167 Riverfront Development in Peoria James Baldwin .............................................. 177 Closing Address Roberta M. Parks ............................................ 179 Scientific Centennials: Brief Histories of the Forbes Biological Station and the l]linois State Water Survey Distributed at Their Anniversary Reception Stephen A. Forbes Biological Station .................................. 181 One-Hundred Years of Research, Data Collection, and Public Service by the Illinois State Water Survey .................................... 183 Appendices A. Photographs ................................................. 187 B. Poster Session Participants ....................................... -]91 C. Participants ................................................. 193 iv Acknowledgments Planning Committee Sandra Price Robert Frazee, Co-Chair Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce University of Illinois, Cooperative Extension Service Organizers Roberta Parks, Co-Chair Heartland Water Resources Council of Heartland Partnership Central Illinois Ruth Ballowe and Michael Renter, Association of Illinois Soil and Water The Nature Conservancy Conservation Districts Nani Bhowmik, Misganaw Demissie and Caterpillar Inc. David Soong, Heartland Partnership Illinois State Water Survey Illinois Department of Agriculture John Braden and H_afini Narayanan, Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation University of Illinois, Water Resources Illinois Department of Natural Resources Center Division of Fisheries Joel Brumley, State Natural History Survey AISWCD State Water Survey Gary Clark, Office of Water Resources Illinois Department of Namra/Resources Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Resources Blinois Farm Bureau Michael Eppley, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Illinois Environmental Protection Agency University of Illinois Nancy Erickson, Cooperative Extension Service Illinois Farm Bureau Water Resources Center Alan Guiso, Illinois Department of Agriculture Stephen Havera and Richard Sparks, Illinois Natural History Survey Forbes Biological Station Jon Hubbert and Gary Pfiefle, NRCS Mafilyn Leyland Caterpillar Inc. Jim Mick Illinois Department of Conservation Division of Fisheries Lorin Nevling Illinois Natural History Survey Michael Platt and Holly Thome Heartland Water Resources Council of Central glinois V Conference Co-Sponsors Illinois American Water Company Federal Illinois Association of Park Districts Congressman Ray LaHood Illinois Chapter of the American Fisheries U.S. Department of Agriculture Illinois Farm Bureau Natural Resources Conservation Service Minois Riverwatch Network U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Minois Valley Yacht and Canoe Club U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Jim Agles ChevroleqGeo U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Marshall-Pumam Soil and Water U.S. Geological Survey Conservation Districts Water Resources Division The Nature Conservancy Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission State of Illinois The Open/ands Project Governor James Edgar Pekin Energy Company Department of Agriculture Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation Peoria County Department of Natural Resources Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Office of Water Resources Peoria State Natural History Survey Prairie Rivers Resource Conservation and State Water Survey Development Environmental Protection Agency TazeweU County Water Quality Management Unit Tri-County Regional Planning Commission University of Illinois Tri-County Riverfront Action Forum Cooperative Extension Service Upper Mississippi River Conservation Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program Committee Water Resources Center Organizations Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts Audubon Council of Illinois Caterpfllur Inc. City of Pekin City of Peoria Committee on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River Friends of the Fox River Fox River Chain-O-Lakes Heartland-County Farm Bureaus Marshall-Putnam, Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Heartland Partnership Heartland Water Resources Council of Central Illinois Vi. Proceedings Opening Address Robert W. Fmzee University of Illinois cooperative Extension Service East Peoria Extension Center, 727 Sabrina Drive, East Peoria, IL 61611 Good Morning and Welcome! At this time I would like to convene this Opening Session of the 1995 Governor's Conference on the Management of the Illinois River System. I am Bob Frazee, an Extension Educator specializing in Natural Resources Management for the University of Illinois and a co-chair for this conference. This morning as I mingled with people in the hallways, it was exciting to be a part of the interest and enthusiasm that is being generated by holding this fifth biennial conference on the Illinois River System. I am very pleased to report, that as of a few minutes ago, we now have over 250 individuals registered for this conference. In looking over the registration list, we have a very diverse group of participants in terms of their backgrounds and the groups and agencies they represent. This is great! With this diversity in mind, I would like to encourage each of you, throughout this two-day conference, to actively seek out individuals with different opinions and viewpoints on river management. Share your thoughts and concerns with each other, open your mind to new perspectives, and explore the opportunity for compromise. The Illinois River has been a river of extremes throughout the 20th century. It has flourished as one of the country's best fresh-water fisheries; and it has also been given up as dead, the victim of severe pollution. However, the Illinois River has been making another comeback in the past decade, and this is the focus for our 1995 Governor's Conference on the Management of the Illinois River System. The theme, appropriately enough, is: "The Illinois River: Past, Present, and Future." During the next two days, our conference speakers will be addressing water-quality issues and programs,