Olivet Nazarene prepares to host Kankakee River Basin conference | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Olivet Nazarene prepares to host Kankakee River Basin conference | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Olivet Nazarene University will host the Kankakee River Watershed Conference on Feb. 10 in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
The conference will focus on the river basin's long-term health.
The Kankakee River is a National Water Trail; the river rises near South Bend, Indiana. When it meets the Des Plaines River, it becomes the Illinois River. The water then flows to the Mississippi River and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
From agriculture to industry, what happens upstream affects the river as it travels south to the Gulf.
The upcoming conference will allow experts in agriculture, economics, education, recreation and science to share information and resources to protect the river basin.
"Kankakee: the river that connects us" will feature the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Prairie Research Institute Director Brian Anderson; Timothy Nugent, president and CEO at the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Representative Chuck Theiling; and 12 other speakers.
“Education is an important need for real understanding of watershed issues,” Dr. Randy Johnson, Olivet biological sciences professor and conference co-chair, said. “That is what this conference will address. Solutions to environmental issues don’t happen without stakeholders seeking to understand one another’s perspectives, challenges and needs.”
Alerts Sign-up