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<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Protect
Banner Natural Areas! <BR><BR>A strip mine between a conservation area and
wildlife preserve? That’s what we’ll see if Capital Resources Development
Corporation gets its way. <BR><BR>Visit www.saveoureagles.org now to register
your support to protect natural areas in Banner,
</SPAN><st1:State><st1:place><SPAN
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<BR><BR>Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn is organizing an on-line petition drive to
protect an area along the </SPAN><st1:place><SPAN
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River</SPAN></st1:place><SPAN
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from a proposed strip mine. It’s all part of an effort to help the “Heart
of Illinois Sierra Club” and its local petition drive already underway.
<BR><BR>Capital Resources Development Corporation wants to mine a 643-acre tract
between Rice Lake State Conservation Area and the Banner Marsh State Fish and
Wildlife Area. The proposed site is also less than one mile away from the
</SPAN><st1:place><SPAN
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River</SPAN></st1:place><SPAN
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<BR><BR>Not only could strip-mining operations threaten American Bald
Eagle and American White Pelican habitat, heavy metals and other mine waste
could pollute waterways. Local residents fear a mine would also
drain local drinking water wells and even rupture Banner’s sewage treatment
plant. <BR> <BR>The Banner area is winter home to hundreds of bald eagles
and a major stop on the migratory path of the American White Pelican.
Great Blue Herons, ospreys and many other birds also call the area home,
with both </SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Rice</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN
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</SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN
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and the Banner Marsh sites offering a wide range of recreation and nature-based
tourism opportunities. If you’re a hunter, hiker, bird water or even
boater, log on to www.saveoureagles.org and help keep this scenic and special
area safe. <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break">Christine Williamson</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
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Cook</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
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