Brookfield Zoo's Indian Lake Will be Focus Of Environmental Education Effort

Springfield, Ill. -- The results of a complex effort to improve the health of Indian Lake at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo will be the focus of a zoo exhibit scheduled for kickoff next weekend.

On Aug. 14 and 15, a Lake Festival will be held at Brookfield Zoo, showcasing Indian Lake and Dragonfly Marsh and featuring storytellers, tours of the lake and marsh and hands-on environmental presentations. The events will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Helped with funding made available by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's Lake and Watershed Unit, the zoo had diagnosed problems affecting the on-site lake including shoreline erosion, low dissolved oxygen levels and a high phosphorus level. With funds from the Illinois Clean Lakes Program, the zoo installed rip-rap and aquatic plantings to deal with the erosion, added lake aeration, and applied alum to help control the phosphorus. Zoo biologists will monitor the lake regularly to chart the lake's progress.

The project is being used by the Illinois EPA and the zoo as an educational tool to inform the general public on the importance of lakes, typical lake problems, and the inter-relationship of aquatic sites and human activity. Emphasis will also be placed on the wide biodiversity that exists in and around lakes.

The Illinois Clean Lakes Program, which receives funding through Conservation 2000, is a financial assistance grant program supporting long term comprehensive lake management to improve the quality of Illinois lakes and enhance their use.

Slated to expire on June 30, 2001, the Conservation 2000 program was recently extended by the Illinois General Assembly. Gov. George Ryan has signed the legislation into law, extending the life of the program to June 30, 2009. The Illinois EPA and the state's Departments of Agriculture, Transportation and Natural Resources share funding under the program, with the Illinois EPA expected to receive approximately $1.6 million in Conservation 2000 funding yearly.

Related Information

• Conservation 2000 Illinois Clean Lakes Program