A ruling by the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the way for the Greater Rockford Airport Authority to continue building a road through ancient Bell Bowl Prairie, one of the few remaining gravel hill prairies in Illinois. A remnant of a past glaciation, the prairie is home to endangered birds like Blue Grosbeak and Loggerhead Shrike as well as the endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee and rare plants like Pasqueflower and Prairie Dandelion.
I have sighed petitions, called the airport brass. Called the governor, the president, president Obama. I have never even seen the Bell Bowl Prairie.