HR0149 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0149 LRB103 31546 LAW 59629 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act was passed on August 28, 1963, establishing the Illinois Nature Preserves System; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Nature Preserves contribute to the public health and welfare and the environmental quality of the State; and

WHEREAS, This visionary law protecting Illinois Natural Areas was a model that many other states followed; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Nature Preserves System protects 618 preserves, totaling 119,170 acres; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Nature Preserves are habitats for rare, vanishing, threatened, and endangered species; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Nature Preserves are of value for scientific research and teaching, and they are especially valuable as reservoirs of gene pools that may not survive anywhere else and of which not all potential uses are known; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Nature Preserves are places of historic and natural interest and scenic beauty; they are living museums of the native landscape wherein one may experience primeval conditions in a wilderness-like environment; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Nature Preserve System is an enduring resource for people of present and future generations; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Nature Preserve System will be marking its 60th year in 2023; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August of 2023 as Illinois Nature Preserve Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we continue to value the protection and ecological stewardship of Illinois Nature Preserves; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and the Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves as a symbol of our respect and esteem.