A little before sunrise on March 12, nearly 10 local environmental groups joined together for a “roost-in” to stand against the City of Rock Island’s pending area development plans. The protest was located at the Milan Bottoms Preserve in Rock Island, the home to hundreds of bald eagles.
Groups such as the Sierra Club Eagle View Group and Quad City Audubon Society are fighting against the City of Rock Island’s development plans. The city’s Community Engagement Manager Sarah Hayden said in an email that the development includes a gas station, hosting diesel pumps, a mini-mart and even a marijuana dispensary.
The plans are set to be located along the Interstate 280 and Highway 92 junction, next door to the preserve. On Monday, March 17, the City of Rock Island held its last public comment about the development where 28 community members spoke, voicing their various concerns surrounding the plans.
The Milan Bottoms is home to a 35-hundred-acre wetland, with the largest bald eagle night roost in the lower 48 states. Wildlife Biologist for the Bio-Eco Research and Monitoring Center Kelly McKay said the protest was held early in the morning to mimic the night cruise studies held in that area.
“Night roosts are critical to the survival of wintering bald eagles, and we know that about 50% of all the Eagles wintering in the Quad Cities rely on this site,” McKay said. “This proposed development, our opinion is, is going to have an extremely negative impact on that night roost.”
McKay said the city’s plans for a gas station would cause too much commotion for the bald eagles, harming their habitat. Chairperson from the Sierra Club’s Eagle View Group Jon Duyvejonek agreed with these concerns and said there is a long-term need for permanent preservation of the area.
“Whether it’s a conservation easement or a formal nature preserve, we’re just trying to urge the city to move in that direction too,” Duyvejonck said. “Even if the development goes through, we still need that kind of protection.”
He said the groups banded together in hopes of gaining the media’s attention and raising awareness about the Milan Bottoms to reverse the city’s decision. The Raptor Advocacy Rehabilitation & Education (RARE) group, River Action and several other environmental organizations held a second “roost-in” at the Rock Island City Hall, right before the last public hearing concerning the development.
“We kind of hope that there’d be enough people there to kind of sway the city staff and the developer to make some changes to the project that would lessen the impact on the eagles and the other fish and wildlife resources,” Duyvejonck said.
In an email, Hayden said the City of Rock Island is planning to expand the tax-increment finance (TIF) district to encompass the wetlands geographically “so that the city can spend some of the property taxes on preserving and improving the surrounding wetlands.” The city will vote on the TIF district on April 7.
Brendan O’Brien created a petition on Change.org titled, “Protect Milan Bottoms – The Quad Cities’ Largest Intact Natural Area!” The petition has gained support from members throughout the Quad Cities with 2,237 verified signatures. Adriana McBride also started a Facebook page, titled “Save Milan Bottoms,” with nearly 600 followers to promote activism and provide updates to the public.
McKay said the groups are not against a gas station, nor the development of a new one, but rather urging the city to relocate it to somewhere out of harm’s way to the eagles.
“We’ve never said don’t do a truck stop. We just said don’t do a truck stop right here, just relocate it, so you’re not impacting this night roost,” McKay said.