Do you care about public access to lands for recreation, about getting youth involved with nature and the outdoors, or about conservation funding in Illinois? Help create a better future through Conservation Congress.

SAVE THE DATE of Tuesday, April 13, 2010 for a working session in Springfield on these Conservation Congress issues.  It will have been 6 months since over 140 conservation organizations gathered to recommend actions (see Final Report below).  It will be time to review progress on some of the top recommendation, and pool our efforts to make further progress. 

We expect the days’ events to start at 9:00 am and run through the afternoon, with an evening reception as well.  More information on the event’s agenda, and information on how to register, will be available soon on this website.

At Conservation Congress, on October 24 and 25 at the IDNR Headquarters in Springfield, participants reviewed, proposed and prioritized recommendations to elected and appointed Illinois officials on: Youth Recruitment and Retention, Access to Private Lands, and Conservation Funding.

Final Report of the new Conservation Congress - October 24-25, 2009
Executive Summary of the new Conservation Congress - October 24-25, 2009

Reports of committees of the Natural Resources Advisory Board, with recommendations presented and considered at Conservation Congress on October 24 and 25, are available:

Access to Private Lands EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Access to Private Lands FULL REPORT
Access to Private Lands POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PDF)

Youth Recruitment and Retention EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Youth Recruitment and Retention FULL REPORT
Youth Recruitment and Retention POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PDF)

Conservation Funding EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Conservation Funding FULL REPORT
Conservation Funding POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PDF)

Schedule for Conservation Congress October 24 and 25 is here.

Conservation Congress Process POWERPOINT PRESENTATION