60 Years of Conservation, Community, and Connection
By Alysia Callison
All good stories start with an idea, and the story of the Macon County Conservation District is no different. The story of MCCD is one of commitment, drive, and belief. So, where did the idea come from? To find that answer, we must go all the way back to 1935 – 31 years before the District was formed.
In 1935, the United States Congress conducted a study of the Illinois River Basin, which includes the Sangamon River. Their goal was to learn how the region could be developed to mitigate flooding in the area. One of the study’s recommendations was to build a dam on the Sangamon River, approximately three miles northeast of Decatur at the headwaters of Lake Decatur, to create a new reservoir. If built, this reservoir – the Oakley Reservoir – would have extended into Piatt County and flooded nearly 700 acres of bottomland forest in Allerton Park. As one might imagine, this was met with a great deal of pushback. The loudest opponents to the plan were farmers, as their lands would be flooded and drainage would be altered. Even after additional studies by the Army Corps of Engineers to determine the best course of action, Congress approved the Flood Control Act of 1962, committing to the Oakley Reservoir project and putting $125,000 toward the beginning stages. It seemed that the Reservoir would proceed regardless of citizen pleas.
One of the concessions of the plan was that, once completed, the Army Corps would give some of the developed land to a local land management agency for recreational use. The only issue was, Macon County did not have such an agency. The state inspected the area and stated that it was too small for a state park (at the time, state parks had to be at least 1000 acres). So then what?
In June 1965, the Macon County Board was approached by A. Webber Borchers, a notable Decatur resident and former member of the County Board. He asked them to establish a committee to determine the viability of a county park system, hoping that it could satisfy the requirements for the Oakley Reservoir project and ensure public access for the future. A man by the name of Norman Greenberg sat on the board at the time, and expressed interest in joining such a committee. Thus, in October of 1965, Greenberg and two other Board members – Floyd Grise and Lewis Claypool – were appointed to the committee.
As the committee explored the possibilities, more support came in January of 1966 from O.T. Banton, a member of the Decatur Audubon Society, and R. Lee Slider, the past president of the Macon County Historical Society. The Audubon Society had been exploring the idea of a nature center for many years, but had not found a path forward. Greenberg met with Slider, Banton, and three other Audubon members – Mary Orr, Corinne Rigg, and Alice Irwin – to brainstorm options, with discussion of county park districts, forest preserve districts, and conservation districts. Following this meeting, Banton and Slider expressed support for a conservation district at the January County Board meeting.
In March, Greenberg worked to gather more support from local service clubs. Interested groups gathered and formed a steering committee, and in addition to Greenberg, Slider, and Banton, it consisted of the following:
- Donald Berg – Boy Scouts
- Elbert Bonn – Midstate Mounders Archery Club and Audubon Society
- Marguerite Bringer – Macon County Historical Society
- Lillie Calander – Association of Childhood Education
- Ruby Cook – Parent- Teacher Association
- Sam Gibbons – Izaak Walton League
- Alice Irwin and Lloyd Latendresse – Audubon Society
- William Munch – representing several veteran’s groups
- Robert Stroyeck – representing a local camping group
The steering committee met weekly, and in June of 1966, Greenberg recommended that the County Board support the creation of a county conservation district.
From June to November, the steering committee gave presentations to any group that would listen, with most of the presentations given by Greenberg, Slider, and Banton. Presentations were given as often as five or six nights a week at their own expense, to groups of a dozen people to several hundred. The grassroots committee was dedicated, passionate, and determined.
To get a referendum on the November 1966 ballot, they needed to get 1% of the county’s registered voters – almost 600 people – to sign a petition. In a short time, over 1,000 signatures were collected, most of them gathered by Elbert Bonn. Thus, the referendum was added to the November 1966 election ballot.
In the months leading up to the election, the committee was met with a lot of opposition. Some people were concerned about higher taxes. Some felt that the referendum should wait until the primary election in 1967. Some were worried about the effect this might have on local land. The committee stayed steadfast, explaining to people how it would affect them minimally financially, but would reap enormous rewards recreationally and environmentally. Still, they had no way of knowing what the general consensus was, and they did not know whether their hard work would pay off.
On November 8, 1966, with a landslide margin of 25,033 to 11,574, the vote passed and the Macon County Conservation District was born. The values of the community were loud and clear: Macon County wanted to support their local natural and cultural heritage. Thank you, 1966 voters.
The next several years were ones of excitement, growth, and change. In December of 1966, the first MCCD board was appointed. In 1967, the board hired legal counsel and began work on their first master plan. In 1968, the board hired the District’s first executive director, Preston Schellbach. In 1969, the District purchased its first tract of land along the Sangamon River, which would eventually become Rock Springs. Shortly thereafter, the land that would become Friends Creek was purchased due to its location just north of the proposed Oakley Reservoir. In 1975, the federal government scrapped the Oakley Reservoir project due to pressure from other communities and organizations, including a committee from Allerton Park. Though the impetus that sparked the initial conservation district movement was no more, the fuse had been lit, and the flame continues to burn to this day.
Today, the Macon County Conservation District is responsible for the conservation of nearly 4,000 acres of land, much of which started as farmland but was restored to beautiful native prairies, forests, and wetlands. The District also preserves several local historic sites, from the Oglesby Mansion, to the Trobaugh-Good House, to Bethel School House. None of this would be possible without the commitment of Norman Greenberg, Lee Slider, O.T. Banton, and the rest of the steering committee. Their hard work and dedication paid off tenfold, and we can only hope to keep that spirit moving for another 60 years and beyond. Thank you to the steering committee, thank you to the voters from 1966, and thank you to YOU, dear reader, for supporting the work we do and allowing the community to reap the rewards that were merely an idea six decades ago. We hope you will join us throughout the year as we celebrate this anniversary and look forward to the journey ahead.
