Activists rallied in advance of the Feb. 24, 2022, meeting of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority board of commissioners. (Save Bell Bowl Prairie Facebook / Jesse Crow Mermel)

Four months ago, activists mobilized to save the 8,000-year-old Bell Bowl Prairie remnant from destruction by Rockford Airport, which planned to tear up the prairie, situated within the airport’s nearly 3,000 acres, as part of a $50 million expansion of the airfield’s cargo operations.

Though the Save Bell Bowl Prairie coalition — led by the Natural Land Institute, longtime stewards of Bell Bowl — earned a temporary reprieve for the natural area through March 1, the group remains at a stalemate with the Greater Rockford Airport Authority. February 2022 is October 2021 all over again.

The institute’s announcement back in October, that a deal had been reached through the U.S. District Court to halt demolition of the prairie, was made with the assumption the agreement had bought time for the two parties to explore alternative designs. The goal, activists repeatedly stated, was to find a way to preserve the prairie and allow the airport to grow.

But airport officials never came to the table for discussions, and construction has continued up to the very edge of Bell Bowl. The prairie site is crucial to the airport’s long-term development plans, officials said.

With the clock ticking, activists rallied in advance of the airport board’s meeting Thursday evening. They then packed the meeting itself to make their voices heard during the session’s public comment portion, during which only five speaker slots were made available.

Protesters rallied at Rockford Airport this evening in defense of the beautiful Bell Bowl Prairie, which the Airport Board plans to pave over with an access road — destroying a third of IL’s remaining ancient gravel prairie in the process. https://t.co/VKvFDeIXSv pic.twitter.com/npAGKfzbdC

— paul goyette (@paulmgoyette) February 25, 2022

Repeated arguments were made regarding the prairie’s rarity as an all but vanished habitat, as well as its historical and ecological value, particularly as host to several endangered species including the rusty patched bumble bee.

Frank Langholf, pastor of Rockford’s Emmanuel Lutheran Church, criticized the board for failing to engage with the public.

“The lack of communication the last four months ... it feels like you built a wall between you and anybody else,” Langholf said. “I think you could have done better at the beginning. I think you still could do better.”

The situation in Rockford is being closely watched by conservation organizations across Illinois, said Judy Pollock, president of the Chicago Audubon Society.

“It’s a sad duty to have to come here and have to speak about saving this piece of land,” she said. “Our changing climate really tells us that we have to start doing some things differently.”

Whether bulldozers will roll on the prairie March 1 remains a question mark.

The airport has yet to submit a new biological assessment to the Federal Aviation Administration, as required following the discovery of the rusty patched bumble bee. Activists continue to petition elected officials at the state and national level and the Natural Land Institute still has pending litigation against both the airport authority and federal agencies.

Contact Patty Wetli:@pattywetli| (773) 509-5623 |[email protected]