10-02-2025
Quad Cities environmentalists push back on proposed development
Kelly McKay has spent more than 40 years researching and monitoring eagles. One of his favorite spots to watch eagles in the Quad Cities is the Milan Bottoms.
'It's by far and away the most important piece of bald eagle habitat in this region, certainly on the upper Mississippi River,' McKay said. 'Periodically you'll see them carrying sticks and carrying sticks to the nest.'
The Milan Bottoms stretches 3,500 acres, and is full of trees and is a favorite spot for eagles who gather in the winter. A part of what makes the Milan Bottoms so attractive to eagles is the food — fish, which includes several types on the Illinois state list of endangered species — that can be found in the water.
However, bald eagles might need to find a new place to gather if a proposed cannabis dispensary, retail space, and truck stop are built adjacent to the Milan Bottoms.
'Truck stops, you know, they are 24 hours a day, trucks coming and going, a lot of noise,' Kelly said. 'They're lit up like bright Christmas trees.'
Kelly added that the noise and light would alter a bald eagle's night roost area, especially during the winter.
'[Night roosts] have to be secluded from a lot of human activity and development. If the birds are constantly being disturbed and disrupted during the night, their agitation levels are rising, they are burning calories, and they're wasting calories,' Kelly said.
Kelly and other local environmentalists argue the proposed development could create an economic problem for the area.
'We know Bald Eagle Days here in the Quad Cites brings in enormous numbers of people, and there's always large attendance,' Kelly said. 'Large attendance equals dollars and these are people from outside the Quad Cities coming into the Quad Cities.'
In response, the city of Rock Island issued a statement:
'The 10 acres that are being developed are not wetlands and are not in the floodplain. The letter from the Sierra Club Eagle View Group raises some issues that are too early in the project to address.'
Rock Island mayor Mike Thoms and city manager Todd Thompson plan to listen to the Sierra Club Eagle View Group's views as soon as they can schedule a said he welcomes the meeting.
'I don't think you have to sacrifice the most important site for bald eagles on the upper Mississippi River to put a truck stop at this specific location,' Kelly said. 'I think there are some alternatives, and that's what we would like to discuss with the city and the developer.'
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