Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Trails Des Plaines Water Trail Committee Meeting Minutes January 18, 2001 Attendees: Tom Alabastro - Chairman Gary Mechanic - Illinois Paddling Council Joe Modrich - Park District of Franklin Park John Elliott – FPDCC Anita Healy – FPDCC Dave Longo – Illinois Department of Natural Resources Kent Taylor – Open Lands Project Brian Kalata – Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Andre Gaither – National Park Service John O'Lear - FPDWC Cathy Garaghty – FPDCC Dan White – FPDCC Ed Mantel – Village of Riverside Discussion: Getting organized: Mike Mechanic lead a discussion on topics the group should consider such as meeting agendas, frequency of meetings, location of meetings, and short and long term objectives. Ed Mantel volunteered to take minutes as well as host a meeting in May or June in Riverside. Andre Gaither volunteered to do agendas and offered meeting space as well. What others are doing with regard to water trail establishment: The Fox River group is well established and has a membership twice the size of the turnout today. There has been a regional council formed to allow the various river groups to exchange ideas and experiences. This group should consider attending the regional meetings. Capital Water Trails in Wisconsin has received grants of $5000 per year for clearing streams and installing signage. The FPDWC conducts a living laboratory Water Trails that is focused on environmental education. Some trail groups are looking at common signage. Some groups are working on trail maps. Some are working on establishing launch sites. Suggestions for the Des Plaines Trail: Establish common signage Work on launch site creation so sites are about a half-day trip apart. Close the 23-mile launch site gap between Allison Woods and Plank Road woods. Develop educational programs. Arrange for river events such as the Upper Des Plaines River Marathon on May 20tn in Libertyville. Inhibitors to the trail: Up stream from Hoffmann Dam in Lyons, the river is not a "navigable" river. This means that the owner of the property along a shoreline, per Illinois law, owns the river to the center of the river. In the event both banks are owned by a common owner, they can actually close off the river. A navigable river on the other hand does not allow for river ownership. Lake County has decided to not participate in the water trail program. Experiences from October 2000 River Field Trip: The dam encountered was a real inhibitor to travel Takeouts were difficult and steep The lunch stop at FPD was a nice setting but the washroom facilities were very dirty. This would have to be addressed if the trail was going to be advertised and use encouraged. The lack of signage on bridges or anywhere made it difficult to know where you were at and what you were looking at. It was very unclear where the bank was public or private land. Signage Issues: The single most important thing to know when you are on the river is "where you are". Proper signage makes this possible. Bridge signs should be a high priority item for this group. Launch sighs should also be a high priority. Identification from the river as well as how to find the launch sites from the road is important. A draft letter to IDOT requesting permission to install signs was reviewed. IDOT will not allow bolting of signs to bridge structures. They will not install signs nor will they fabricate them. It appears that stenciling may be an option to hold down cost. Wisconsin uses a Coast Guard format for their signs. This creates a substantial penalty if one is stolen or damaged. Lake County (?) posts "Greenway" signs on the river crossing bridges. It is probably easiest to start with the bridges rather than launch areas. One consideration is to assure the bridge has a road sign identifying the river below by name as well as a water trail. This helps promote awareness. Funding: There are IDNA boat launch site grants available. Unfortunately these are very limited. There may be a chance to get C2000 monies. We should probably understand what funding is available and when and how we can get access to it. Andre explained an Urban Resources Partnership (soon to be named Urban Conservation Assistance Projects) grants that may be available to this group. Long Term Vision: Launch sites every 3-5 miles. Stewardship opportunities. Create a market for tourism. Provide interpretation of what is seen. Clearly marked water way and launch sites. Involve all communities along the river trail in the activities, enjoyment, recovery and protection of the river. Short term activities: Develop a "river sign" which represents the Des Plaines River Perhaps obtain the services of a graphic artist to develop the sign. Perhaps build on the ideas presented by Dan. Work with IDOT on what is allowable Action Items: A signage sub committee was formed consisting of Dan, Dave, Kent Andre to further develop Dan's signage efforts. They will meet at FPDCC Headquarters on Feb 8th at 1:30. Tom will meet with Andre to better understand the grants Andre mentioned and see if they are applicable to what this group is attempting to accomplish. The plan is to meet regularly. The next regular meeting will be March 8th at location to be determined. Key topics will be funding and signage. Andre will issue a meeting notice and agenda. Mantel to issue meeting minutes. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:30.