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<DIV>Hi,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm developing a position for Sierra Club on proposals by the Illinois
Endangered Species Board to remove the Bald Eagle, Henslow's Sparrow and
Sandhill Crane from the state Threatened Species list. The hearing is in
Springfield on Jan. 23. Information, including the Board's reasons for
de-listing these species is included at the web site listed in the meeting
announcement below. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Essentially, the Endangered Species Board says these three species are
stable and thriving and should be removed from the Threatened list. If they are
removed, they will lose the special protections they get now to increase the
species' numbers. The Board will not provide the evidence they said was used by
the Endangered Species Techincal Advisory Committee on birds to review the
status of these three species. I can't find anything online about the background
data. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My emotions and intuition tell me that this is bad move by the Endangered
Species Board, but I need scientific proof one way or the other. Geoff and I
have been poring over Bohlen's Birds of Illinois, the latest Illinois Breeding
Bird Atlas, Ridgeway for historical context, Birds of North America, and
Meadowlark sightings.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you have other sources, personal expertise or know someone who can help,
please get in touch ASAP. I would like to have my comments ready by Friday or
Saturday. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks very much in advance,</DIV>
<DIV>Christine Williamson</DIV>
<DIV>Chicago/Cook</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:birdchris@aol.com">birdchris@aol.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Interested
Parties</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2> </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The Illinois
Endangered Species Protection Board (ESPB) will hold a public hearing at noon on
January 23, 2009 at the Illinois Department of Natural Resouces (IDNR)
headquarters to take public comment on proposed changes to the Illinois List of
Threatened and Endangered Species resulting from the required 5-year
review. Information about the public hearing can be viewed at the
ESPB webpage on the IDNR website at </SPAN></FONT><A
title=http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm
href="http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm" target=_blank
rel=nofollow><FONT title=http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm
color=#0000ff><SPAN title=http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm</SPAN></FONT></A><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> . </SPAN></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Additional
information currently available on the ESPB webpage includes the current List of
Treatened and Endangered Species that was approved in 2004 and a notice for
calendar year 2009 meetings. For ease of reference, the ESPB also plans to
post meeting agendas and minutes to the site sometime in the near future.
Please note that the ESPB has been without staff for some time and currently is
operating with reduced staffing, so we ask for your patience as we address
updates to the webpage and respond to queries for other information.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Thank
you.</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2> </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Anne
Mankowski</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2> <BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Director</SPAN><FONT
size=2> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Illinois Endangered Species Protection
Board</SPAN> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">One Natural Resources Way
<BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Springfield<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, IL
62702-1271</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">phone:
(217) 785-8687</SPAN> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">fax: (217)
785-2438</SPAN> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">email:
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><A title=mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov
href="mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov" target=_blank rel=nofollow
ymailto="mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov"><FONT
title=mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
title=mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">anne.mankowski@illinois.gov</SPAN></FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2>
</FONT></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="3978955b1b5688dfb2ac28a5a2e97ee4"><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"><b>A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. <a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=DecemailfooterNO62"> See yours in just 2 easy steps!</a></b></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>