Life Without the Defenders

By Bill Donato, Board President 2008-2010

I was watching the History Channel the other night and came across an interesting show. It was called Life After People. It showed day by day what would happen if people were suddenly removed from our planet. Life immediately would change. This made me think about the Defenders and our role in the county. We are working hard to raise funds to hire an executive director and every meeting seems to focus on this. We even held an executive director fund campaign. Still, we are short of funds. It is easy to get discouraged, but after watching this show and speaking with long time active members of the Defenders, such as Ed Ellinghausen, Dwight Dalton, and Alice and Bill Howenstine, it is remarkable just what an impact the Defenders has had and continues to have on the county.  

But what if the Defenders ceased to exist? What would it be like? The documentary shows what happens after one day, one month, one year, one hundred years, and so on. Even after one day of the Defenders ceasing to exist, people in the county would not have a voice for their environmental concerns. A month later, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and CFL bulbs would be thrown in the trash, adding to the risk of mercury contaminating groundwater. Parker Fen would become contaminated because the Defenders would not be there to advise the McHenry County Board how to protect Class III groundwater. Several species would leave the area. Subdivisions would be built without safeguards and restrictions suggested by the Defenders. After only a year or two, silt would run off from these subdivisions and add to the turbidity of the Kishwaukee River, forcing many animals to leave the county. Ammonia levels rise because the Defenders are not there to advise city planners of septic requirements and to increase waste water treatment. A superhighway is placed through the county, again without the safeguards that Defenders’ members advise developers to follow. 

It’s hard to really know the effects of the loss, since so much of what we do is behind the scenes. When Nancy Schietzelt and Kim Willis of the Water Resource Protection Committee attend a meeting and make suggestions to the planners, no one really knows about it. Changes are made because of their work and appearance. The Defenders are like the Lorax. They speak for the trees and the environment that is easily forgotten. Planners and county boards often do not always agree with what is suggested, but the Defenders are there to remind them that they can’t ignore the environment. In short, the Defenders educates young and old about best management practices and provides opportunities for its members and citizens to work for a better environment. 

I realize I only postulate on what may happen if the Defenders ceased to exist and there are, of course, other excellent organizations in McHenry County, such as the Land Conservancy, the Conservation District, the Lou Marchi Total Recycling Institute, and the McHenry County Schools Environmental Education Program (McSEEP), all of which make a tremendous difference in the county. We do not work alone. Still, what if the Defenders, with all the breadth and depth of issues that we cover, never existed?  

Like James Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life…what if the Defenders never existed in McHenry County? The outcome might be easier to predict. Millions of tons of recyclables would be added to our trash because the Defenders would not have been there to start the state’s first curbside recycling program. A superhighway, known as the Fox Valley Freeway, would be moving through what is now Glacial Park. The Defenders were instrumental in stopping this development. The Conservation District would not have over 22,000 acres of land protected due to the Defenders spearheading the creation of the District. The Land Foundation of McHenry County, now called the Land Conservancy, protects over another 1,400 acres. This was founded by the active work of a Defender committee and its first board was appointed by the Defenders. The Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee might not exist since it was started by the Defenders. There would never have been the Lou Marchi Total Recycling Institute since it was started by a former Defenders’ Member, Lou Marchi. The program’s current director, Pat Dieckoff, is an active Defenders’ member. The Green Guide would not exist, which would cause citizens to dispose of many products that could have been recycled, reused or disposed of properly. Several species of butterflies and birds would have been killed, due to the overuse of pesticides to control gypsy moths. The Defenders were instrumental in getting the county to use a biological control method that was the first in the country. Sound gravel mining practices would not exist if it were not for the watchful eyes of the Defenders. The Woodstock Farmers’ Market might not exist, because it was a Defenders’ member who funded it and continues to be active in maintaining it. Environmental education programs would most likely not exist because it was the Defenders that distributed environmental education grants to schools and distributed literature concerning environmental programs in schools. Full Moon Theater programs, like special showings of An Inconvenient Truth and The 11th Hour might never have occurred, so fewer people would be aware of global climate change and practices that can help reduce their carbon footprint.  

Just as James Stewart runs through a town he doesn’t recognize, we might have had a similar experience if the Defenders didn’t exist. Uncontrolled growth, polluted surface and groundwater, and an uneducated populace would be the norm. Instead, the county boasts a remarkable number of high quality areas and is the place where I chose to raise my family and hope others make the same commitment. This work can only continue if you get involved through committee work, donating much needed funds, and giving your time to special projects. In addition, we need help attracting the next generation of Defenders to build a stronger membership base to take us into the decades to come. 

The Defenders continue to act as The Lorax, sometimes ridiculed by the environmentally uninformed, but always there to remind us what we have to lose.