Vermilion County has an astonishing amount of natural resources owing to the river valleys it possesses, carved by the glaciers many thousands of years ago. It has more per capita access to park and forest preserve lands than any other county in the state. Yet for a county so rich, it’s people are so poor in many ways. Exposure to native and rehabilitated landscapes is one of those ways.
Even though Vermilion County has been blessed geologically, it’s also been exploited heavily by industry. Disturbed mine lands are often overgrown with invasive species of all types, which choke native plants and the wildlife that depend on them. It’s a vicious cycle, with only difficult, time consuming, and costly solutions.
Luckily, Vermilion County has a great history of conservation! The work of Vermilion County Conservation District has been instrumental in saving so many of the landscapes we know and love. Without them, our valuable and unique natural resources might not be so easily accessible, if they even remained accessible at all.
Trails and greenways protect important habitat and provide corridors for people and wildlife by:
- Functioning as a “buffer” between the built and natural environments
- Improving water quality by filtering pollution run-off
- Improving air quality by protecting plants that naturally create oxygen and filter pollutants
- Raising the perceived value of open space to the public by providing access
- Functioning as hands-on environmental classrooms for people of all ages
- Providing enjoyable and safe options for transportation, which also reduces air pollution
However, while VCCD does incredible work, this is also still Vermilion County. Which is to say they manage to do quite a lot with very little. They are overburdened and underfunded, and are barely able to scrape by in the completion of their core mission. There’s just simply not the time or the resources to expand even conservation efforts, let alone make time for recreation planning!
That’s where organizations like VCTA come in. Part of VCTA’s trail building mission, specifically for wild, scenic, natural surface trails, is to protect and, where possible, rehabilitate the landscapes through which the trail traverses. This can mean anything from re-routing sections of trail to avoid or highlight unique species, to planting native pollinator plants, to cleaning unhealthy streams, and more.
Through the fruits of these efforts, we hope everyone can see the advantage in opening up more of our unique landscape to trail users. It’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind, and if folks aren’t seeing and being constantly reminded about the beauty and wonder right in their own backyard, they’ll forget. If they forget, they won’t defend what they have. Before you know it, it’ll be gone.
Through VCTA’s efforts, we hope everyone – residents, visitors, children, adults, urban, rural – gets to know and love the scenic wildness of Vermilion County the way we do.
Most directly, greenways protect important habitat and provide corridors for people and wildlife. However, trail corridors can also assist in providing natural buffer zones from pollution run-off and become important tools for improving water quality. They can also improve air quality by protecting the plants that naturally create oxygen and filter out air pollutants. • Greeways function as a “buffer” between the built and natural environments. • The value of open space to the public is enhanced by providing access. • Greenways function as hands-on environmental classrooms for people of all ages. • Trails provide enjoyable and safe options for transportation, which reduces air pollution.