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The
most immediate benefit of the Illinois Wildlife
Action Plan for Illinois will be continued eligibility for State
Wildlife Grant Program funding after the October 1, 2005, deadline. In
recent years, Illinois has received about $2 million per year in additional
federal aid for nongame wildlife conservation. If funded at the level
proposed for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, Illinois could receive
$12 million each year in SWGP funding.
The
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is charged with protecting,
conserving and managing the State's natural resources. Protection, conservation
and management is on-going, but implementation has been traditionally
multi-focused. Illinois has been involved with several large-scale landscape
management efforts (e.g., Conservation 2000 Ecosystem Program, Interagency
Pilot Watershed Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP), and the Illinois Rivers Restoration Effort) as well as more geographically
focused efforts to document and describe our resources (e.g., Illinois
Natural Areas Inventory, Resource Rich Areas, Important Bird Areas). With
the diversity of conservation goals and programs being implemented by
the IDNR Office of Resource Conservation, it has become increasingly difficult
for field staff to distinguish IDNR priorities, efficiently direct funding
and staffing to address priorities, and effectively evaluate the success
of efforts.
The
Illinois Wildlife Action Plan establishes
a single plan for the IDNR to use in the selection of projects and distribution
of services. The plan is fostering better communication throughout the
Department, especially within the Office of Resource Conservation, which
is responsible for working with the native flora and fauna of Illinois.
Besides fulfilling the legal requirements for receiving federal aid funding,
the IL Wildlife Action Plan will support future grants, direct habitat programs, guide the
management of IDNR sites and land acquisitions, and facilitate partner
projects with federal, local and not-for-profit conservation organizations
and private landowners.
The
Illinois Wildlife Action Plan will identify
habitat areas that demonstrate the greatest conservation need and potential,
and will establish specific goals for the preservation, enhancement and
protection of these sites.
These 31 specific Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) were identified as high priorities for protection and management. A State Wildlife Grant was awarded to a project titled T-55 in which the goals of this project are to facilitate planning and coordination of ILWAP Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) and provide coordination among conservation partners. The primary objective is to provide for the direct refinement and revision of Illinois’ Wildlife Action Plan. These activities will identify COAs that are in need of assistance with planning and coordination and allow for an assessment of initial status of the COAs as well as progress in planning and coordination over a 3-year period. This effort will also allow for development of a model system for planning and coordination within and among COAs and will provide a foundation for future assessment of the success of COA’s (e.g., achieving goals related to management activities, coordination, and/or funding).
The IL Wildlife Action Plan will identify tools to achieve specific
and broad conservation goals. Monitoring wildlife responses through protocols
described in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan will ensure conservation actions are contributing to natural resource
goals. Through adaptive management and a dynamic Illinois
Wildlife Action Plan, new challenges and opportunities that arise
will be addressed quickly. |
