The Nature Conservancy Honors Senator Frerichs and Representative Moffitt for Support of Illinois Prescribed Burn Act

Peoria, Ill. — September 11, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy will present Acorn Awards to State Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Galesburg, and Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign, in honor of their sponsorship of HB 1638, the Illinois Prescribed Burn Act. The bill sets requirements for conducting prescribed burns and provides for the development of minimum standards for the certification of a prescribed burn manager by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the State Fire Marshall. It passed unanimously out of both chambers and was signed into law by the Governor on August 13, 2007. The Awards will be presented to Moffitt and Galesburg in fall ceremonies. Moffitt will be honored September 11 at Starved Rock State Park. The Acorn Awards are presented to elected officials who exhibit leadership on important legislative initiatives that promote effective conservation policy in Illinois.

“The Nature Conservancy wants to acknowledge Representative Moffitt’s and Senator Frerichs’ leadership in passing this legislation that increases awareness and use of prescribed fire as a critical natural resource management tool,” said Susan Donovan, director of government relations for the Conservancy in Illinois. “They understand that the historical role of fire in Midwestern ecosystems is to benefit plant and animal species that have evolved in fire dependant habitats such as prairies and savannas.”

In an effort to restore the natural fire cycle in public lands, trained professionals across Illinois conduct prescribed burns, ranging in size from several thousand acres in remote areas to small burns of a few acres in urban areas. They burn woodlands, wetlands, savannas and prairies to set back weeds and exotic plants that choke out native trees, grasses and wildflowers. The legislation does not impose these standards on any private landowners who conduct burns on their property.

Rep. Moffitt, who sponsored the bill in the House, is serving his seventh term as a legislator in the Illinois House of Representatives. Moffitt is the Chairperson for the Special Committee on Fire Protection and Minority Spokesperson for the Special Committee on Railroad Safety. He also serves on the Agriculture and Conservation, Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.

Sen. Frerichs, the bill’s Senate sponsor, was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2006 as the first Democratic state senator to represent East Central Illinois since 1936. He is the Vice-Chair of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee and also serves on the Appropriations III, Higher Education, and Labor Committees.

For more information on the work of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois, visit www.nature.org/illinois.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.