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Residents, conservation groups urge city to protect Milan Bottoms wetlands ahead of proposed 'Casino West' development
Summary
Public commenters and local environmental groups urged Rock Island leaders to protect roughly 500 acres within the Milan Bottoms wetland complex and to fund a wetland management plan instead of allowing development that could increase local flood risk and harm wintering bald eagles.
Residents and conservation groups told the Rock Island City Council that proposed development in the Milan Bottoms—referred to by some speakers as “Casino West” or Bailey West—would damage critical wetlands and the largest documented bald eagle winter night-roost in the Lower 48.
At a public-comment segment, wildlife biologist Kelly McKay said Milan Bottoms is "the largest documented night roost for our national bird anywhere in the Lower 48 states," and warned that a proposed truck stop connected with the development would "have an extremely negative impact on the bald eagle night roost at Milan Bottoms." She said roughly half of the bald eagles that spend winters in the Quad Cities rely on that roosting site.
Why it matters: Speakers said the wetlands provide both wildlife habitat and natural flood storage; they urged the council to preserve the site and fund a wetland management plan rather than expanding development into flood-prone areas. Nina Strouse of Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) urged conservation of about 500 acres inside a roughly 3,500-acre complex and warned that development on the parcel now under consideration would increase downstream flooding, citing modeling that the parcel sits at a lower elevation and could raise flooding in nearby neighborhoods by up to 13 percent.
John Dubajunk, chair of the local Sierra Club Eagle View Group, requested a public commitment from the city to protect remaining Milan Bottoms areas and to develop a long‑term management plan with community input and grant funding. Laurie McCullen, a longtime Rock Island resident, cited Visit Quad Cities tourism figures and warned of economic consequences if the eagles decline. McCullen also asked whether any environmental impact studies for the site had been completed; she invoked the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act as potentially implicated.
Council response and staff clarification: During first‑reading debate on a related tax-increment financing (TIF) amendment, a council member asked whether TIF revenue could be used to fund a wetland management plan; staff answered yes and clarified that the activity must be eligible within the TIF to be funded. Council members also indicated interest in a wetland management plan ahead of the public hearing on the development.
What speakers asked the city to do: Speakers urged the city to (1) commit publicly to protecting portions of Milan Bottoms, (2) pursue a wetland management plan tied to funding sources (including, they said, potential TIF revenue), (3) consider conservation easements or other permanent protection steps, and (4) complete environmental impact assessments addressing wildlife and flood implications before approving development.
Background/details: PRN and the National Wildlife Federation have promoted conservation for the area and provided a 2024 climate-risk report cited by speakers. PRN said urban wetlands can provide substantial flood- storage and economic benefits; speakers suggested the city explore grants and federal/state assistance to fund management and conservation work instead of permitting development that would increase impervious surface and reduce flood storage.
What’s next: The TIF-related ordinances that include language making certain wetland-management work eligible for funding were introduced on first reading and advanced by roll call vote during the meeting. A separate public hearing on the proposed development was referenced by speakers as upcoming.
