Full Text of HR0040 95th General Assembly
HR0040 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0040 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| presented to Kenneth Kesler as a symbol of our respect.
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