Chicago River in the News: Building Support for a Blue-Green Corridor
The river was the poster child for Earth Day's impact in the and highlighted as a wonderful place to restore your soul in Ed Zotti's April 24 column, "," which ran in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Zotti wrote, "Few things so vividly demonstrate the transformation of Chicago as the revitalization of the river. Once a neglected industrial waterway, the river is now one of the city's foremost environmental, recreational, and natural assets." He quoted Friends' Executive Director Margaret Frisbie on Friends' early efforts which resulted in river-edge protection, the Chicago Riverwalk, much cleaner water, and our emerging continuous Chicago River Trail.
Zotti's sentiment was echoed by Friends' board president, Sally Fletcher, who wrote a follow up outlining the benefits of developing and protecting the river as a blue-green corridor of natural 第一吃瓜open space. "A blue-green corridor is a sustainable solution that uses the Chicago River system and adjacent lands to establish an interconnected passageway between natural habitats" wrote Fletcher. "It would benefit people in every community regardless of socioeconomic status." Benefits include better water quality, more 第一吃瓜open space to reduce flooding and combined sewer overflows, improved wildlife habitat and expanded recreational opportunities.
Watch here for more information on how you can support a blue-green corridor and the people and wildlife who need it in the coming months.
