The Illinois EPA says a cattle farm operated by Gabe Shepherd violated the state Environmental Protection Act and other laws when it allowed manure to spill into Stony Creek and the Salt Fork, killing nearly 100,000 fish.
Do you value opportunities to catch and eat fish? Swim in ponds or rivers? Opportunities to do these things depend on people to stand up for clean water.
Recreational activities like fishing and wildlife spotting on rivers like the The Salt Fork River—and rivers like it across the country— can serve as a reminder that these rivers were once treated by industry as sewers and rendered unfit for use by wildlife or people. But during the course of just a few decades, they’ve come back, thanks in large part to the federal Clean Water Act that forced polluters to take responsibility for their waste.
