On July 26-27, the Wildlife Habitat Council hosted the a regional summit in the Midwestern states, “Valuing Ecosystems in the Calumet, Prairie Parklands and the Chicago Regions.” With support from ExxonMobil, Lafarge and Vulcan Materials Company and with generous in-kind contributions for the USDA/Forest Service, the event was held at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The US Forest Service kicked off the two-day workshop with an in-depth tour of the restoration efforts taking place at the Midewin—the site of the former Joliet Arsenal—which is slowly being restored to a function prairie ecosystem through the application of cutting edge restoration techniques and an ever-growing collaborative of private and public partners.
Following the tour, participants also learned of the moving story of “Operation Migration,” a unique non-profit organization that is helping to preserve whooping crane populations along a Midwestern flyway by using ultra-light aircraft to lead the way on migratory flights of young cranes carefully reared away from human contact at Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge. The inspiring story once again demonstrated the power of private- public collaborative.
On July 27th, the morning began with a brief introduction of the year–long People, Partnerships and Pathways theme by Wildlife Habitat Council Staff and was followed by informative presentations by WHC members and partners. A more detailed summation of presentations will be released in September of 2011, but an overview of presenters and their topics follows:
- David Guritz and John Oldenburg (Forest Preserve District of Dupage County) provided an overview of the program’s successes in the region and current projects, including many ways to use technology to advance community interaction and engage learners of all ages.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mike Redmer offered information on programs available to landowners and partner groups and profiled current areas of interest by the agency throughout the region.
- A case study of prairie restoration using a high degree of community engagement was provided by Jim Mason and Rick Randolf of Flint Hill Resources and the Prairie Parklands Partnership).
- Dr. Lynn Westphal (U.S.D.A./Forest Service) explored the US EPA’s Urban Watersheds Program & US Forest Service Private Lands Program, providing insights into potential partnership opportunities or areas of collaboration.
- Green Infrastructure issues, in urban and suburban watersheds, was expertly discussed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Bob Newport (EPA Region 5).
- A Case study on the elements of productive partnerships was also delivered by Ducks Unlimited’s Eric Schenck while the Wildlife Habitat Council’s own regional manager, Daniel Goldfarb, presented still more examples of successful corporate-public collaborations, drawn from his many years experience in the region.
- During lunch, participants were treated to an address by Andy Mangan of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Throughout the afternoon, participants worked to exchange ideas and develop a vision for deepening collaborations in the future. Among the outcomes of the conference:
- A commitment was made by all to explore the expansion potential of the corporate involvement/ WHC partners at the Midewin—adding to the current corporate involvement in the Midewin restoration program by more deepening involving WHC members.
- A commitment and rough implementation plan to articulate the “business case” for WHC members to embrace ecosystem services tools and methodologies and remain involved in restoration programs.
- A commitment to continue to engage stakeholders from all sectors—NGO’s , regulators, private organizations to build a stronger community of conservation within the region.
Additional goals relating to education and community engagement were also discussed. A more detailed report will soon be available.
