Conservationists urge Rock Island to reconsider truck stop, dispensary near Milam Bottoms eagle roost

A wildlife biologist and local conservation groups told the Rock Island City Council during public comment that a proposed cannabis dispensary, strip‑mall and a 24‑hour truck stop beside Interstate 280 and U.S. 92 could imperil a major winter night roost for bald eagles at Milam Bottoms.

Kelly McKay, a wildlife biologist who said she has studied bald eagles in the Midwest and Northeast for 46 years, told the council that long‑term surveys documented “6 to 800 eagles a night” in some years at Milam Bottoms and described the site as the largest night roost documented on the Mississippi River and in the Lower 48 states. She said night roosts require large, contiguous patches of floodplain forest and low night‑time disturbance to allow the birds to conserve energy.

That concern was echoed by John Duvijunk, chair of the Sierra Club Eagle View Group, who read a letter signed by roughly 25–30 local organizations including Quad City Conservation Alliance and Living Lands and Waters. Duvijunk said the Milam Bottoms ecosystem is about 35 acres of bottomland hardwoods and wetlands, that the parcel abuts the roost’s high‑use area (which he said supports about 80% of the wintering birds), and that the proposed development could increase light, noise and runoff near the habitat.

Why it matters: public commenters warned that sustained nighttime disturbance from heavy trucks — engines, air brakes, horns and bright lights — could cause eagles to abandon the roost, which would reduce survivability for birds that rely on communal roosts to conserve winter calories.

Speakers asked the city to meet with the prospective developer and to consider design and mitigation steps, including preserving buffer habitat, limiting nighttime operations, minimizing light spill and ensuring stormwater controls to limit runoff of salt and contaminants.

Duvijunk noted that any encroachment into adjacent wetlands “probably would require a Clean Water Act permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.” He also cited the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and said the groups want a plan that balances economic benefits with environmental costs, and that the city consider low‑impact recreational access and viewing opportunities at the site.

Several speakers at the meeting urged the city to open informal conversations with conservation groups and the developer prior to permitting decisions. A different public commenter later in the meeting also said she supported the Mile/Milam Bottoms speakers and asked the council to preserve the site.

The council did not take an immediate vote or issue any decision on the proposed development during this meeting. No staff presentation or formal development application was shown to the council during the public comment period. The speakers said they want the city to provide plans, mitigation proposals and details about whether the Service Project Road to the site would be raised due to past inundation, and whether public access would be retained.