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Chicago Wilderness was launched in April 1996 as a regional consortium
of conservation-minded organizations, there were 34 members. Now
there are 98. When these organizations joined together to protect,
preserve, restore, and manage the rare natural communities of
the Chicago region, they were inspired by a bold vision of humans
living in harmony with nature. Now they have a plan.
This
plan, the Biodiversity Recovery Plan, is the result of efforts
by more than 200 people, including the various Chicago Wilderness
teams (Science; Land Management; Education and Communications;
and Policy and Strategy), who participated in preparing background
papers and in workshops to address scientific and policy issues.
These included taxonomic workshops that focused on groups of species
(mammals, birds, amphibians, etc.) and ecosystem types (forests,
prairies, wetlands, etc.). The plan identifies the ecological
communities of the greater Chicago region, assesses their condition,
identifies the major factors affecting them, and provides recommendations
for actions needed to restore and protect and sustain them well
into the future.
This
Biodiversity Recovery Plan, issued in final draft form last fall,
is an ambitious document for it demonstrates that by saving the
rare nature of this region, we can also enhance the quality of
life for all species — humans and non-humans alike.
In
1909, the Commercial Club of Chicago released the "Burnham Plan,"
one of the most influential and famous city plans in world history.
Among its many provisions, that plan envisioned that the shore
of Lake Michigan and a far-flung network of natural landscapes
be protected as public parkland. In 1915 the Illinois General
Assembly enacted legislation enabling the creation of a system
of publicly-owned preserves for Cook and DuPage counties. Since
then, thousands of acres have been acquired and protected by county
entities throughout the region. State and federal governments
also purchased land in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. These
publicly owned preserves now provide the core area where the majority
of native plants and animals reside in the Chicago Wilderness
region.
Today
our region is ecologically healthier and more beautiful because
of such foresight. The air is cleaner, the water purer, recreational
opportunities more plentiful, and other resources more abundant
than would have been if previous generations had not considered
the future. But as the rate of change has sped up, and knowledge
of ecological implications has grown, our planning has not kept
pace.
What
we do today determines what will happen in the future. The Chicago
Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan recommends that public and
private agencies and individuals change the ways in which we act.
It describes what we, the people, will lose — if current
trends persist.
Key
recommendations
Goals
of the plan
How
can you help?
Organizations
that have approved the plan
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Where
to learn more
Chicago
Wilderness has produced an eight-page Guide to the Recovery
Plan and a 28-page Summary of the Plan. These
documents, as well as the full 190-page plan, can be viewed
on the Chicago
Wilderness Web site.
For
a copy of the guide or the summary, call Irene Hogstrom
at the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commision (312) 454-0400
x406.
A
major strength of the Biodiversity Recovery Plan
lies in its creation through a participatory process that
assembled a broad-based consensus of expert opinion. If
it is to remain valid and become implemented, it must continue
to be refined, to grow, and to incorporate new information
as it becomes available. Comments are welcome at any time
and can be sent to Chicago Wilderness in care of John Paige
at the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, 222 S.
Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800, Chicago, IL 60606.
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Copyright
2006 Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Inc.
Revised .
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