East Moline, IL, January 24, 2018 - Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) will employ heavy-duty excavators and grinders to chip large piles of full trees between 11 am and 4 pm on Wednesday.
This will complete Phase I of the I-80 restoration project, which was announced nearly one year ago after LL&W received permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to perform a complete restoration of the stretch of land overlooked by the Illinois Welcome Center. Extensive damage from a tornado in 2016 affected the native habitat and the view for more than 40,000 motorists who see this land as either their first or last impression of the state. The project’s goal is to restore the habitat to its natural state and to make the area aesthetically pleasing again. Feedback to date has been astounding.
Chad Pregracke says of the project, “I’ve never had so many people ask me or show as much enthusiasm for a single, local project as I have with the I-80 restoration. Our community has been extremely attentive and supportive, plus we have a great partnership with IDOT. We’re really happy to be working with them and the many volunteers and sponsors on this.”
Phase II of the project will begin in the spring and will entail planting native trees. Before the first frost in 2017, all acreage was planted with wildflowers and will show beautifully by the start of the next phase!
About Living Lands & Waters – Chad Pregracke started Living Lands & Waters in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the beautification and restoration of America’s major rivers and the education of environmental issues. From his single boat beginning, LL&W has grown to an industrial strength, internationally known organization with a fleet of barges and workboats. LL&W engages thousands of volunteers each year in river cleanups, hands-on environmental education workshops, the Great Mississippi River Cleanup, Adopt-a- River-Mile program, Invasive Species Removal, and the Million Trees Project.
About the I-80 Restoration Project - The land that is either a motorist’s first or last impression of Illinois was ravaged by a tornado in March of 2016, uprooting hundreds of trees and causing extensive aesthetic damage. Situated where Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi River, the land is overlooked by the Illinois Welcome Center and is passed by more than 40,000 motorists daily. After getting permission from the Illinois DOT, LL&W announced the launch of a 28-acre land restoration project in February of 2017. The goal for the project, which stretches along the I-80 gateway, is to showcase the natural beauty of our state to travelers and visitors entering Illinois from the west. The finished product will encompass a complete restoration of two tracks of land back to a native prairie. It will be accomplished with the help of hundreds of volunteers from across the region.
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