http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopMiningBanner

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has issued Capital Resources Development Company permit to operate a surface coal mine on 643.2 acres (Proposed Permit Area) of property south of and adjacent to the Village of Banner.

We believe that the IDNR issued this permit without due consideration of its ecological impact and that, if the mining proceeds as proposed, it will be in violation of Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

We are sending this petition to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to ask them to investigate and stop this mining activity before it destroys sensitive habitat between Banner Marsh State Fish & Wildlife Area and Rice Lake Conservation Area, and area, where Bald Eagles roost in the winter and nest in the spring and summer, where migratory birds, including thousands of Geese, Ducks, Coots, Cormorants, and Pelicans, stop over each spring and fall.

The proposed mining plans include blasting the coal from the ground during the winter months, when eagles would be roosting nearby. The blasting will surely disturb them. Eagles begin their nesting activities in the winter. The blasting at the proposed mining site would surely disturb nesting eagles.

Please help us stop the destruction of Eagle Nesting and Roosting habitat. Sign this petition and then, for even greater impact, send a letter directly to the regional USFWS office:

Field Supervisor: Richard Nelson
e-mail: RockIsland@fws.gov or MidwestNews@fws.gov
1511 47th Avenue
Moline, IL 61265
Phone: 309-757-5800
Fax: 309-757-5807
TTY: 1-800-877-8339

Send the letter certified for even greater impact. Thank you for helping to call attention to this important issue.