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OffOn The bison could essentially graze their way over to Iowa.
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World s largest man-made wildlife crossing proposed to replace aging bridge
Founders are proposing a 100-acre national park allowing buffalo to cross freely between Illinois and Iowa over the Mississippi River.Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune via TNS via Newscom, FILE
Each day, the Interstate 80 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting Illinois and Iowa carries 36,000 cars. But in the not-too-distant future, it may carry bison.
Transportation officials in both states are studying plans that include possibly replacing the 55-year-old span. But rather than spend millions of taxpayer dollars to tear it down, environmentalist Chad Pregracke of Living Lands and Waters wants to raise private funds to transform the bridge into a unique national park: Bison Bridge.
This isn t the actual bottle, but you get the idea.
Getty
In November 2018, a Canadian teenager named Lucas MacDonald wrote his name and phone number on a note while he was on his dad’s tuna-fishing boat off of Prince Edward Island, about 120 miles north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He tucked the message inside a bottle and tossed it into the water, then forgot about it and went about his life.
Two and a half years later, on May 7, Dianne Jurek was visiting Matagorda Beach a ninety-minute drive from her home in Fresno, south of Houston when, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, she found a long glass object poking out of the sand. She retrieved the bottle, unearthed MacDonald’s note, and decided to send him a text to let him know that his bottle had made the journey from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico a trip that would’ve meant traversing at least 2,800 miles on land.
Let the buffalo roam
Ed Breen
Going to stray a bit from home today, but with an idea that s just so darn much fun and interesting that it might be worth the journey.
And we must start with a couple of assumptions. First is that you recognize that in times past bison – buffalo – roamed this range we now call home. In fact, there is a buffalo trace, a deeply etched and well-trod path that crosses southern Indiana. And there are early accounts of places where the buffalo roamed in both northeast and northwest Indiana.
The last bison in Indiana allegedly was shot in Orange County down near Paoli in 1830. And, of course, the bison is prominently preserved on the state s seal, where, ironically, the buffalo is in flight from the approaching settler armed with an axe.
The Bison Bridge stirs up a debate over how much upkeep the aging structure would require
It s been two months since Chad Pregracke unveiled his vision for the current I-80 bridge. But now there s debate over the amount of repairs it would need. Author: Shelby Kluver (WQAD) Updated: 3:18 PM CDT May 18, 2021
LE CLAIRE, Iowa It s been two months since local environmentalist Chad Pregracke unveiled his vision to turn the current I-80 bridge between Le Claire, Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois into a wildlife crossing. The project has gained traction across the region - and beyond - as the Bison Bridge.
The Bison Bridge stirs up a debate over how much upkeep the aging structure would require Shelby Kluver
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It s been two months since local environmentalist Chad Pregracke unveiled his vision to turn the current I-80 bridge between Le Claire, Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois into a wildlife crossing. The project has gained traction across the region - and beyond - as the Bison Bridge.
Both the Illinois and Iowa Departments of Transportation are looking for a place to build a new interstate bridge across the Mississippi River. They say the current bridge is 55 years old and aging; it s dangerously narrow, with no shoulders for impaired vehicles to pull onto; and with only two lanes on either side, it s too small for the amount of traffic it holds.