Law of the land

Today the Chicago Tribune talked about a dispute over public lands owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve that is currently being used by a neighboring company which is a ski resort.  It is interesting that although this resort has been using this small piece of land that they feel entitled to continue its use even when lawfully the small piece of land is owned by Lake County.

The protection of nature begins at the "edge" as we call it in ecology.  Edges define the boundaries of a habitat or protected landscape and are vital to protection of the entire area within those boundaries.  Yet, the argument of negatively affecting the income of the resort is an understandable one.  When we make decisions to protect nature over immediate economic interest or immediate recreation some people just don't agree.

Yet, when there is a law of the land that delimits the boundaries one must abide by such policies.  Similar conflicts will continue to come about as urban population density increases in peri-urban regions.  Space is capital in the world and people want to see profits.  Hopefully we will begin to look at the consequences of our environmental and economic tradeoffs and how each of those very important decisions moves us closer to attaining true sustainability.

Trib Article:
Ski resort in a border war with Lake County
By Dan Hinkel