Our initial meeting of the Canal Alliance went well. We had 26 people in attendance and after a short update on the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor; we were able to get down to work! As you may know, the Canal Alliance works best when our stakeholders, partners and advocates come together to focus on single projects. For 90 minutes, the attendees were involved in one or more of the 5 core workgroups that have already been formed. Recreation discussed gathering recreational information for use on the website, while Conservation discussed planning projects that would include new access to the various forms of wildlife throughout the Corridor. Tourism and Heritage Development discussed the development of a marketing plan, while Resource Protection and Preservation discussed cataloging the historic, cultural, and natural resources within the Corridor. Last, but certainly not least, Education and Interpretation discussed how they could increase awareness of the IMCNHC.
All in all it was a great start to the Canal Alliance. There are still lots of opportunities to participate.
#1 Become a Canal Alliance member
#2 Join a Canal Alliance working group
#3 Participate in I&M Canal Day in Springfield Tuesday, February 21, 2012.
#4 Attend our next Canal Alliance meeting on Thursday, March 29, 2012 from 7:30-9PM at the Joliet Area Historical Museum.
Dennis Bieschke
Canal Alliance Committee Chairman
