Thanks to Dave McGovern for these notes:

A short while back, Erik Sprenne invited me to join him, Tom Lindblade, and Gary Mechanic to attend a meeting in Springfield with the staff of the DNR concerning the Vermilion closure. While Gary was unable to attend, here's  what we learned Friday afternoon.

Arriving at the DNR building, we were greeted by a number of the Office of Water Resources (OWR) staff including Arlan Juhl, Director of OWR and Bob Mool, the DNR lawyer who negotiated the lease with Buzzi Unicem.

To give you a quick summary before getting into the details, it seems possible to get the river open this spring. The DNR has several criteria that must be met first,some of which has been completed. Three items must be completed before the river is opened:

1.  The DNR has not yet assessed the changes to the hydraulic at enough levels. They have viewed it and showed us pictures at low levels and very high levels, but they haven't been there at medium levels
2. The DNR must successfully implement the proposed rule on the NO ENTRY zone near the dam. The DNR and Buzzi are unwavering in demanding that the specified area around the dam be entirely off limits at all times, even when the dam poses no threat (i.e. washes out). The chute on river right will be the only legal place to go. We will be contacting those who commented with a request to withdraw their comments. While we are opposed to the rule in general, the river will remain closed until it is enacted.
3. A sign needs to be placed at the put in showing the area that is off limits, and indicating that parts of the river are private property. This sign has been printed, but installing it is LaSalle County's job, and the DNR has not been ! able to get them to mount it yet. This seems like a petty task, but the river will not open until it is done. Consider contacting LaSalle County officials and encourage them to get the sign installed.According to the DNR, it has already been made, and delivered to the county. I'll post a sample of what the sign may look like in the file section of Paddle,Party, and Play, and attach it to other postings.

Now the nitty gritty. Bob Mool explained that the lease between the DNR and Buzzi Unicem is delicate, and Buzzi can give notice to cancel it at any time. The lease exists primarily because DNR Director Marc Miller pushed for it. Buzzi has little to gain by the lease, and this may be the reason Bob Mool is reluctant to re-open negotiations about the terms of the lease.

There are three phases of improvements specified in the lease: signage, short term dam improvements, and long term dam improvements. The signage, except for the put in sign is complete, as is the short term dam fix. Engineers are working on long term solutions to make the dam safer while maintaining the water storage capacity that Buzzi needs, and once the dam is permanently fixed, there will be no need for the restricted area. The timeline for this is several years, although Arlan did state that funding had been set aside.

There is another aspect of the lease that could be a problem, especially for ACA insured beginner trips. The lease does NOT allow for scouting or portage of either the dam or Wildcat. A huge portion of the land along the river is owned by Buzzi, and all of it isoff limits. The lease only covers land actually submerged in the water, not up to a fixed point such as a normal high water mark. Scrambling over mid river rocks is permissible, but obviously difficult at any flow that would warrant scouting.

Significant discussion of this topic ensued, and after some give and take, DNR staff began to understand the value of scouting and,! if necessary, portaging. In the end, Bob Mool agreed to discuss it within the DNR, but he would not commit to talking to Buzzi about amending the lease to allow scouting or portaging.

It was also stressed to us that to protect the lease, conservation officers will be heavy handed in enforcing the restricted areas. If Buzzi Unichem sees someone where they don't belong, the DNR will respond. We as paddlers must be self policing prevent any issues. This specifically means that we must not surf the dam if it looks good, and that we must talk to anyone including rafters who look like they might be heading into the restricted area. Please remember, the offices of Buzzi overlook the dam, we will be quite visible to them. What we get in return is to get the river open sooner than the end of phase three.

A number of times during the meeting, DNR staff talked about wanting to partner with the paddling community to achieve mutually desirable goals. While I certainly have a healthy bit of  skepticism, I think right now we should take the comment at face value and do what is necessary to get the Vermilion open to paddling as soon as possible.

I have put a sample copy of the put in sign in the files section of Paddle, Party, and Play, and we hope to get it posted to the CWA website as well. Here's a link:

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cFIMTxInakDqqwHvt1hk06L4_nZ3YK-36OaOWVJ6QEax7E1_CID6ayr08oAQijWnm-gklaOFgBsaHpG75BJ2KYJJYDvUYQ/Vermilion%20Information/Information%20Sign%208%20with%20DRAFT%20stamp.pdf

Dave McGovern

  

2011 Illinois State Racing Champions

Illinois State Racing Championship awards were announced for twelve recipients at the 2011 IPC Banquet. To qualify, each champion had to compete in the same class in five of the eight IPC sanctioned races from early May to mid-September, regardless of who their partners may have been, and finish highest most often among their peers in that class. Click on the names of the underscored winners for an award presentation photo!

C2 Recreational – 1^st Place John and Liga Kropp

C2 Mixed - !st Place Debra Wesolowski and Brian Ellison

C1 Men’s – 1^st Place Jody Runyon

2^nd Place Mike Kies

C2 Men’s – 1st Place Wally Werderich

2^nd Place Ben Josefik

3^rd Place Dave Buckley

C2 Men’s Masters – First Place Don Mueggenborg

C2 Standard – First Place Pat Faul and Steve Conlon

There were no 2011 awardees in C2 Juniors, C2 Adult-Youth, C2 Women, K1 Sea Kayak or K1 Open. Compete in the same class in five of the eight IPC sanctioned 2012 races and you too could become an awardee next year!

The Illinois Paddling Council has received the American Canoe Association's

"Stroke of Achievement Award"

Presented each year to one or more ACA Clubs for "Superior Performance and Program Development. The award was presented at the ACA's annual Banquet  On Oct. 1st in Louisville Kentucky

It seems like yesterday when Raider walked into the Chicagoland Canoe Base after participating in the annual DesPlaines River Canoe Marathon, declaring it was not enough of a challenge for paddlers and that we should create a real one like paddling across Lake Michigan! I tried to point out that there would be serious risks involved but he was determined to find a way to minimize the risks.

Raider began to organize the event starting at the beach in New Buffalo, Michigan and ending at the 95th Street beach in Chicago, a distance of 43 miles. As a safety precaution, he arranged for the local Power Squadron to escort paddlers across. I was intrigued, like everyone else, by the opportunity to actually cross our lake and planned to use my 34 footer and a crew of volunteers. I cannot recall the exact date but it was in the late 60s. A medley of paddlers and craft assembled on the beach at New Buffalo at dawn, my 34 surrounded by racing and folding kayaks and aluminum and fiberglass canoes. The waiting escort vessels were seen offshore. We started out heading westward on a calm lake and New Buffalo disappeared from view behind us. Soon we were all separated and for about four hours we could not see any land. It gave us the reality of how vast Lake Michigan actually was. Our escort boats vanished from view. They evidently got tired of the slow pace paddlers were setting. I was told later by those behind me that standing in the stern of my craft made me the only visible guidepost in sight. I was amazed at seeing a huge bumblebee alighting on our craft for a rest and wondered how he had managed to fly all that way with those short wings of his. Heading in a westerly direction, we eventually spotted the Hancock building on the far horizon and rejoiced that our goal was in sight! Then a crew member recalled that you could see it from fourteen miles out and we dreaded the thought of having that distance to do yet. Behind us we heard someone singing the Lithuanian national anthem and passing us was my friend Al Vosylius and his buddy in a Klepper folding kayak. We made a landfall late that day after 10 1/2 hours and rejoiced in having Lake Michigan allowing us to cross safely. Not everyone that had started out made the crossing, a few turned back shortly after launching. And Raider, who had crossed with his son, made plans for next year's race.

The following year, I was on finish line duty and remember that the first canoe in was a Sawyer Cruiser, a Lynn Tuttle design, and a favorite marathon racing canoe at the time. Fifteen minutes later, a friend and his grown son from Chatham, Illinois came in with one of my 18 1/2 foot bark canoes. The next to come in was another Cruiser with a racing team like the first, using the banjo blades which were in vogue at the time, and ten minutes later, one of my 17 foot Canadiens arrived with a couple of teen agers from Desplaines. Both Cruisers were decked bow to stern but the other two came across open as they were dryer hulls. A number of solo kayakers and canoes followed. The lake was choppy and we heard that there were rain squalls that obliterated any attempt at directional orientation and no one thought of bringing compasses. After that crossing it was decided to recreate the next race parallel to the shore for safety. This was the first Shoreline Marathon!

Raider was true to his Viking background, not afraid to try something new. He provided a set of memories for me that I will cherish forever.