On July 1, 1995, a major reorganization or consolidation of some departments of the State of Illinois was realized. This reorganization has its foundation in an Executive Order issued by Governor Jim Edgar on March 1, 1995. A new Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was formed to strengthen the state's ability to protect, enhance, and responsibly use Illinois' natural resources in order to provide the citizens of today and tomorrow with an outstanding quality of life. At the same time, it is expected that the reorganization will result in programmatic and administrative efficiencies.
The DNR contains the former Department of Conservation, the former Department of Mines and Minerals, the former Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council, the Division of Water Resources of the Department of Transportation, and portions of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR). Those parts of DENR transferred to DNR include the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the State Geological Survey, the State Water Survey, the Illinois State Museum, the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center (HWRIC), and the Office of Research and Planning.
The Department of Natural Resources is led by Director Brent Manning and Deputy Directors John Comerio and Bruce Clay. Internally, the Department will be organized into 10 functional offices, one of which, the Office of Scientific Research Analysis, will contain the three Surveys, the State Museum, and the HWRIC. This Office will be headed by Assistant to the Director for Scientific Research and Integration, Karen A. Witter, erstwhile Director of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources from 1988 to 1991. Since 1991, Karen served as the Executive Director of the Governor's Science Advisory Committee.
Some readers may recall reading in INHS' Annual Report for 1991-1992 that I reported on an attempt to dissolve the Department of Energy and Natural Resources and to find new homes for the divisions in various state agencies or in the University of Illinois. A number of different options were explored in this effort and ultimately failed because of the concerns of the constituency and clients of the Surveys, HWRIC, the State Museum, and others. Their concerns, and ours, focused primarily on the need to maintain our ability to produce credible science. Of special concern was the possible placement in an agency with broad regulatory and enforcement powers that might attempt to influence the independence of our research in order to support regulations.
During the process of defining the reorganization, we were given assurances, from all significant levels of state government, that the concerns expressed during the earlier reorganization effort would be satisfactorily met. Undoubtedly, there will be many changes in store for INHS, but the bottom-line integrity of our science will be preserved.
The Board of Natural Resources and Conservation, founded by statute in 1917, will remain intact together with its duties including the oversight function of the three Surveys and HWRIC. The Board of the Illinois State Museum also will remain intact, together with its duties.
The formation of the Department of Natural Resources comes at a most opportune time for several reasons. First, federal environmental law is being undermined by eliminating or reducing the appropriations that underpin the law in the interest of reducing the deficit. In some instances, the law is, or will be, directly attacked during the reauthorization process based on special interests rather than informed science. Because of a series of special reports and the support of the Conservation Congress, Illinois is in a stronger position than virtually any other state to provide the advice and options necessary to play an influential role in the national debate. Secondly, the old Department of Conservation was actively involved in a number of projects that could bring significant lands under partnership management in the near future. These macrosites offer unparalleled opportunities for the application of ecosystem management techniques and for making a positive impact on behalf of biodiversity. We are looking forward to the exciting opportunity and synergism of collaborating with others in planning the macrosites.
We intend to continue the publication of Survey Reports and to provide it free-of-charge to interested readers. Survey Reports may also be found in electronic format:
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/surveyreports/sr-index.html
Lorin I. Nevling, Chief, Illinois Natural History Survey
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