Vermilion County will soon be sending a letter to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources requesting that it establish an advisory committee for the Middle Fork River.
County Board Chairman Larry Baughn says IDNR first proposed such a committee in 1992 when it designed a corridor management plan for the river, which was earlier designated as an official scenic river in Illinois. The committee was never formed, and Baughn says people are interested in making it happen.
“So, there’s been some members throughout the county and, actually, a couple of counties, that talked about getting with the state and re-forming that,” Baughn said.
According to IDNR, the goal of the proposed committee would be to provide guidance on project design and management of the Middle Fork River corridor.
Baughn says he thinks the committee would be able to clean up the river area more and to attract more visitors.
“We have more resources to pull people here,” he explained. “We’ve got the Kickapoo and the rail trail now. That’s going great. So, I think it’s an added resource for people to visit in Vermilion County.”
County board members passed a resolution Tuesday night supporting the committee’s forming.
