‘We’re not going away’: Save Bell Bowl Prairie advocates rally outside Rockford airport

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Activists are working against a ticking clock to try to prevent the Chicago Rockford International Airport from going forward with an expansion that would flatten the ancient Bell Bowl Prairie.

More than 50 people rallied outside the airport on Thursday before the Airport Authority’s latest board meeting. They want to convince or force the airport to redesign the expansion that’s already underway so that it can coexist with the rare native gravel prairie.

“We’re not going away,” said Jillian Neece of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserve. “We’re going to continue to be a thorn in their side until they agree to meet with us and discuss possible alternatives to their construction plans.”

The airport halted its $50 million cargo expansion after an endangered rusty patched bumblebee was discovered in August in the prairie, which would be bulldozed to make way for an access road. The airport agreed not to go forward until a second environmental consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration was complete. It’s unclear when that assessment will conclude, but the airport had previously targeted March 1.

“We hope that our deadline is being extended,” Neece said. “We’re hoping they’ll stick with their word and follow the law and not continue with construction until that consultation is finished.”

Related: State of the Airport address interrupted by Bell Bowl Prairie activists

If airport officials won’t agree to work with prairie advocates on a new design, Neece said the hope is that a Natural Land Institute federal lawsuit against the airport would prevail in preventing the prairie’s destruction.

“We’re going to continue to fight on behalf of the prairie and on behalf of everyone who’s looking to conserve this ancient piece of land,” Neece said.

Activists at the rally displayed signs that read “nature over money,” “be a good ancestor,” “save the bee” and “prairie plus expansion,” among others.

Several people spoke about the environmental importance of the land through a portable sound system from the parking lot in front of where Airport Authority members meet.

“Like many, I did not know a prairie of this nature even existed in this area,” Kervin Thomas of Rockford told the group.

Related: Bulldozing Bell Bowl Prairie. Stop. Telegram campaign aims to save land from airport expansion

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He had starting working on a documentary about the prairie as a class project before he truly understood the implications of the construction, he said. But once he learned more, he made documenting and preserving the prairie an even higher priority.

“I pray that the relevant authorities take heed of their ancestral instincts and protect the vulnerable and weak,” he said.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.