Celebrity speaker helps Wildlife Prairie State Park celebrate 30 years

PEORIA, Ill. -- A wildlife park in central Illinois began its 30th anniversary celebration with help from a celebrity among animal lovers.

Animal Planet TV host Jeff Corwin spoke to an audience of more than 450 at a dinner and auction Friday. The event raised about $80,000 for Wildlife Prairie State Park, just outside Peoria.

Corwin called the park "a place that can serve as a catalyst for young people to get excited."

The 2,000-acre park features restored native habitat and animals, including bison, elk, otters and wolves. Attractions include a reconstructed log cabin, playgrounds and a petting zoo.

Owned by the state and operated by a foundation, the park was created by the late William Rutherford, an attorney, outdoors enthusiast and one-time director of the state Conservation Department. He deeded the park to the state in 2000.

His son, William Rutherford Jr., is the current president of the Forest Park Foundation.

Events during the yearlong anniversary are aimed at drawing more people to the park, Rutherford said.

"We need to build attendance at the park for it to be sustainable," he said.

The park has seen attendance fluctuate over the years.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants the Department of Natural Resources to depend less on tax revenue and become more self-sufficient through raising fees. While fees would go up under Blagojevich's plans, the agency's share of general tax money would drop by $27 million, or nearly 40 percent.

"Unfortunately, Gov. Blagojevich has taken a lot of money out of the Department of Natural Resources," said Mike Quine, a member of the Forest Park Foundation board of directors. "We are having to do things a bit differently to raise money for the park."