HR0040 LRB095 06335 KXB 26431 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Kenneth Kesler has served on the Champaign County
3 Soil and Water Conservation District Board for 40-plus years,
4 serving as chairman from 1971-2002; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Through his leadership the district is a
6 recognized leader in many areas of conservation including
7 filter strip establishment, development of an 88-acre prairie
8 restoration, and a 67-acre wetland restoration; the district is
9 also a pioneer in computer use and Geographic Information
10 Systems (GIS) to improve conservation and communication; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Kenneth Kesler has a long history of foresight in
12 guiding the district, an example of which is the planting of
13 filter strips along the 691 miles of streams and drainage
14 ditches in the county; in the mid 1990s he saw the need and
15 developed a plan, with grant funding, to have someone talk to
16 farmers and landowners about the importance of filter strips
17 for water quality and wildlife habitat; through this effort
18 almost 75% of the stream and ditch banks are now protected by
19 filter strips or riparian buffers or are naturally protected by
20 flowing through trees; the effort was accomplished through
21 mailings, personal calls, newspaper articles, and other ways
22 that could be found to tell the story; and
 

 

 

HR0040 - 2 - LRB095 06335 KXB 26431 r

1     WHEREAS, Champaign County was once covered with prairie and
2 wetlands before being developed into some of the most
3 productive farmland in the world; in order to protect this
4 heritage, Mr. Kesler worked to obtain grant funds through the
5 Illinois Department of Natural Resources for the restoration of
6 88 acres of prairie and 67 acres of wetland; a majority of the
7 wetland and prairie has been planted with local ecotype seed
8 and an endangered species, the Franklin Ground Squirrel, has
9 established itself at the site; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Kenneth Kesler has been recognized for his hard
11 work and dedication, including being named the News-Gazette
12 Farm Leader of the Year, receiving the Prairie Farmer Magazine
13 Master Farmer award, and being named the Outstanding District
14 Director by the Illinois Association of Soil and Water
15 Conservation Districts; Mr. Kesler plans to leave the board at
16 the end of his current term and move to an associate director
17 position; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20 congratulate Kenneth Kesler on his retirement from the
21 Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District Board and
22 wish him continued success in the future; and be it further
 
23     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be

 

 

HR0040 - 3 - LRB095 06335 KXB 26431 r

1 presented to Kenneth Kesler as a symbol of our respect.