April 25, 2024
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Starved Rock State Park chosen as spotlight site for Leave No Trace

Traveling team will visit the state park June 3-4 to educate the public on stewardship

By Shaw Local News Network
Virginia bluebells are along the trailhead to Illinois Canyon on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at Starved Rock State Park.

Virginia bluebells photographed along the trailhead to Illinois Canyon on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at Starved Rock State Park. The Leave No Trace organization has selected Starved Rock State Park as a 2023 Spotlight site. (Scott Anderson)

The Leave No Trace organization has selected Starved Rock State Park as a 2023 spotlight site.

As outdoor areas all over the country are being affected by record use, this new initiative from Leave No Trace shines a light on communities rising to meet this challenge with multi-day, onsite education and stewardship programs.

On Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4, a Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Team will with the community and local land agencies to deliver Leave No Trace education as well as to partner on restoration and stewardship projects.

Event stations will be located along the main trail sidewalk that leads past the Visitor Center. Stations will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 3.

Stations will be hosted by the National Leave No Trace Campaign, Boy Scouts of America, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Starved Rock Lodge, Starved Rock Foundation, Illinois Horsemen’s Association, Illinois Conservation Police, Kayak Starved Rock, Starved Rock Hikers and Illinois Learn to Hunt.

Sites are nominated for the Leave No Trace Spotlight initiative by local land agencies or community groups. The diverse sites chosen in 2023 span the country, each with unique environmental challenges. The goal of the initiative is to equip each spotlight area with relevant Leave No Trace tools that address the impacts the site is facing and ultimately, to foster healthy lands and people.

“The spotlight initiative highlights the great steps a community can take to protect an area that they cherish,” said Dana Watts, the executive director of Leave No Trace in a news release. This year, the Airbnb Community Fund has made this program possible through a grant. “The three-day spotlight features workshops for stakeholders and Leave No Trace education for the public at large. It also will include opportunities for the community and our Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Team, who will be there conducting the initiative, to roll up their sleeves together at the Spotlight site and get some work done.”

The following events are free and open to the public. For more information visit Starved Rock State Park on the IDNR website at www.dnr.Illinois.gov.

All IDNR/state park programs are free but donations to the Starved Rock Foundation on site are welcome.