Environment: April 2008 Archives

Are you looking for a way to do your part to protect the environment?

Learn more about Lake County Going Green by watching the "Going Green" video at http://www.co.lake.il.us/green/. The Web site highlights what the county is doing for the environment and gives pointers to families and kids on what they can do.

You can be a member of the Lake County Green Team. If you have a great story about how you are Going Green, send an email to communications@co.lake.il.us. Your story may be featured on LCTV.

One thing you can do right away to go green at home is to buy a rain barrel from the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission. A rain barrel connected to your downspout is a great way to cut down your water bill and do something for the environment, and because you are collecting water right off the roof, it has few contaminants and is perfect for watering the garden. Order forms are available at www.co.lake.il.us.

Welcome to the Green Team!

Did you feel the earthquake? That's what everyone was asking Friday morning. Residents across the Midwest said they were awakened by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and homes in Cincinnati. Centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., the quake was felt as far away as Atlanta and Ontario.
The Hound's embarassed he slept right through it. Is this some kind of warning? Maybe it's time to get earthquake insurance, just to be on the safe side. Did you feel the earthquake?

If wild cougars have taken up residence in the Chicago area, what's next? Could a black bear be our next visitor, scavanging for scraps in our garbage cans? How about a wolf? According to the Illinois Natural History Survey, there has been a steady influx of nine-banded armadillos in southern and western Illinois. We already know skunks are here to stay -- witness the investation of them in Gurnee. Perhaps we should put a bounty out for their pelts.

So cougars are again running amok in Lake County. If so, in which community will the next sighting occur? The Hound is taking bets. Place your money down and take your chances.

The Hound knows something about tracking and has a nose, as it were, for news. He has an edge on law enforcement and Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation police who have once again been looking for the elusive mountain lions.

Chased unceremoniously from North Chicago, The Hound hears of reports of a sighting in the Round Lake area. So where will the lone cougar --- or perhaps there are multiple cougars --- surface?

If you are familiar with the high country, as The Hound is, mountain lions prefer the taste of prong-horned antelope. There are no prong-horned antelope in Lake County, so the next best thing are deer. Where are the most deer? Wadsworth, of course.

The Hound suggests IDNR folks set up observation posts in the Wadsworth area. Many may scoff at cougar sightings, but they said the same thing about the elusive Florida panthers. Of course, the panthers have been found across the State of Florida since naturalists first were convinced they were extinct.

The Hound's second site would be Wildwood or perhaps Prairie Crossing. They're out there and as The Hound's trackers in Steamboat Springs, Colo., report: If you're out walking, make sure you are prepared for cougar attacks.