Hanover’s Wapello Land and Water Reserve Site Garners Praise From Durbin

By MICHAEL MILLER | For The Prairie Advocate News

HANOVER – The Village of Hanover, in concert with the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation and the Field Museum, held a dinner announcing the results of the Bio Blitz held in Hanover during June, at which point the various flora and fauna of the Wapello Land and Water Reserve site were announced and explained. In response to this event, Illinois State Senator Dick Durbin issued a press release, as reported in the August 6, 2012 Prairie Advocate News.

The Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation was recognized by Senator Dick Durbin for its work with the community of Hanover and the Chicago Field Museum at the Wapello Land & Water Reserve site. The letter was read to an appreciative audience at the recent bio-blitz community dinner by Kate Jennings. Its message was centered around the success of community partnerships that bring benefits to all involved.

Senator Durbin wrote, in part, “Congratulations on the culmination of your efforts to preserve and restore the Wapello Land & Water Reserve site in Hanover, Illinois. The preservation of this Native American cultural area reflects great vision, insight, and initiative on the part of your organization, as well as the Village of Hanover and the Field Museum. Thanks to the hard work and collaborative efforts of the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, the Village of Hanover, and the Field Museum, this rare Native American site will be permanently protected, providing many future opportunities for public education and enjoyment. I hope the success of your joint efforts with the Village of Hanover and the Field Museum on the Wapello site will encourage other small communities around the country to restore, preserve, and protect unique lands and their resources. Thank you for your hard work, congratulations on a successful project and partnership, and best wishes for the future.” The complete text can be read at www.jdcf.org.

Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation Board member Robert Klaus commented on the significance of the establishment of the site. He noted that the site had “galvanized a whole town and awakened a slumbering civic spirit” and that this activity had “united the community behind something to give them economic leverage for the future.”

Klaus quoted German writer, artist and politician Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe in relation to the achievement of the community; “What you receive as your heritage, now take as your task; for thus, you will make it your own.”

Klaus says, “To all intents and purposes this is what they (the people of Hanover) have done, and they have done it so well and so nobly. Now the task is translating that patrimony to what was accomplished with the Field Museum project. What this means is linking civic engagement with the heritage, history and culture of Hanover. Exhibit Number One here is Wapello and how Hanover has made it its own.”

The Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 public benefit nonprofit dedicated to conserving and enhancing natural wildlife habitat, cultural heritage, scenic vistas, and agricultural character of Jo Daviess County, Illinois and surrounding area for future generations.