NIPC News

CHICAGO, October 24, 2005 -- Natural resources in 11 municipalities will get a boost as the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) begins a process to engage citizens, planners, elected officials, and other stakeholders around the Poplar Creek watershed. A tributary of the Fox River, Poplar Creek runs through Barrington Hills, Bartlett, East Dundee, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Schaumburg, South Barrington, South Elgin, and Streamwood.

NIPC is inviting all interested parties to attend a kick-off meeting at 1:30 p.m. on October 26 at the Natural Resource Conservation Service offices at 899 Jay Street in Elgin. The work is made possible by a grant to NIPC from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) through the Clean Water Act Section 319 program.

A watershed is the entire land area that drains to a single body of water -- in this case, Poplar Creek. Among its other land-use planning missions, NIPC provides technical assistance to local governments and private organizations working collaboratively to develop and implement watershed plans. Taking a non-regulatory approach to helping communities safeguard natural resources and quality of life, NIPC provides technical assistance that includes identifying and propagating best-management practices.

The Poplar Creek project will begin by identifying stakeholders’ concerns and goals for the watershed, such as preserving a particular stream for its recreational value or protecting the integrity of habitats for biologically diverse plants and animals. Next, environmental planners at NIPC and partner organizations will evaluate water-quality problems and factors that detract from the particular resources. Finally, planners and stakeholders will partner to determine realistic steps to correct the problems and achieve the communities' goals. The result will be a Watershed Action Plan for Poplar Creek.

"Any watershed plan's effectiveness depends on collaboration by many different parties," said NIPC environment and natural resources director Kerry Leigh. "NIPC selected Poplar Creek for this project because local governments, organizations, and individuals there have shown their dedication to overcoming the challenges of natural-resource management. Such commitment is vital to successful watershed management."

By developing a Watershed Action Plan, organizations participating in the project will become eligible for IEPA funding to support activities such as water pollution control, increasing the resource value of Poplar Creek. The Poplar Creek Watershed Action Plan will also enable local governments to comply with federal non-point source pollution control requirements.

The project builds on earlier NIPC efforts that defined goals in the Poplar Creek watershed. The commission has also coordinated over $5 million in federal grants for watershed restoration and non-point source water-pollution control projects in watersheds of the Upper Des Plaines River, the Fox River and Salt Creek. In cooperation with the Chicago Wilderness consortium, NIPC has prepared an inventory and map of watershed projects across the region, as a way to evaluate the success and cost-effectiveness of the projects' planning techniques.

“Watershed planning is one of our most important activities," said NIPC executive director Ron Thomas, "because of its direct benefit to the environment, and also because it promotes collaboration between local governments. Watersheds don't adhere to municipal and geographic boundaries. By planning together, neighboring communities can ensure a better future for the region and its natural resources.”
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About the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) was created in 1957 by the Illinois General Assembly as the region’s comprehensive land-use planning agency. The legislation authorizes NIPC to conduct research for planning -- including official forecasts of population, employment, and other socio-economic indicators -- to advise units of local government on their plans and policies, and to provide general comprehensive plans and policies for use by local governments. NIPC's role was reaffirmed in 2000 by an Interagency Agreement with the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The agreement stipulates that NIPC's plans and data are the basis for the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that guides critical decisions and investments of federal transportation funding. For more, see http://www.nipc.org.