Threats to the Middle Fork

Reservoir
The greatest threat in the Middle Fork's 10,000-year history came in the early 1970's when farmhouses were bought and burned, and construction equipment moved in at the proposed dam site. Thanks to the efforts of 60,000 Illinoisans who signed petitions, and more than 10,000 who wrote to their state senators and representatives, construction dollars were eliminated from the State budget in 1976. In that same year candidate Jim Thompson canoed the river and used it as the centerpiece of his campaign, based on fiscal and environmental responsibility. Soon thereafter the legislature established the Middle Fork Fish and Wildlife Area, and designated several precious woodlands and prairies as Illinois Nature Preserves. A decade later, the State designated the Middle Fork as Illinois' first "Permanently Protected River" and asked the National Park Service to recommend designation as the first National Scenic River in the State of Illinois. The U. S. Department of Interior in 1989 at the request of Governor Thompson designated the river. Congressman Terry Bruce, representing the Danville-Champaign area, spearheaded the campaign and enlisted the support of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. These efforts were supported by yet another statewide petition and letter-writing campaign, netting 60,000 more petition signatures representing nearly every county in Illinois.

Illinois Power Company Pollution

Mismanagement