[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             BROOKFIELD ZOO'S SALT CREEK WILDERNESS EXHIBIT

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                        HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that on August 
14th Brookfield Zoo will celebrate the grand opening of its newest 
attraction, the Salt Creek Wilderness exhibit.
  Representing a northeastern Illinois wetland, Salt Creek Wilderness 
includes the existing Indian Lake, the Ellen Thorne Smith nature trail, 
and a new demonstration wetland exhibit called Dragonfly Marsh. Guests 
will be able to hike along a wood-chipped trail that circles the 4-acre 
lake to see trumpeter swans and several other waterfowl species. At the 
north end of the lake, the trail is paved and leads onto a wheelchair-
accessible boardwalk that overlooks Dragonfly Marsh.
  Support for the Salt Creek Wilderness project comes from the Chicago 
Zoological Society, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois 
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--
Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Conservation Fund, Army 
Corps of Engineers, and the Urban Resources Partnership. With the 
assistance of these project partners, the new exhibit will help to 
raise awareness of the importance of protecting not just animals in 
other parts of the world, but also species and natural habitats in our 
own communities.
  Brookfield Zoo has always been a leader among zoos around the world. 
The zoo's mission is to focus on enhancing visitor understanding of the 
critical need for people to live more sustainable and harmoniously with 
the natural world through naturalistic environmental settings and 
accompanying interpretive materials. I invite all my colleagues to join 
me in celebrating the opening of the Salt Creek Wilderness exhibit, 
which, I am certain, will greatly strengthen the zoo's mission.

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