OUR VISION
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Our Goals

We acknowledge that many people are engaged in a wide variety of conservation practices. We envision a future where we work collectively with shared expertise and funding to overcome climate challenges. Together, we can improve, conserve and protect the shared soil, water and biological resources that are fundamental to the region’s future economic prosperity, health and wellbeing.

Finding common ground among varied and passionate stakeholders in Northwest Illinois is at the crux of this project. We aim to inspire stakeholders to reach a common vision and involve the broader community to achieve that vision together as a region.

The Challenge

Pollution in urban, rural and agricultural areas contribute to water quality and soil health issues in the region. The effects, combined with a warming climate, pose environmental and public health hazards, threaten the region’s economy and hurt the quality of life for plants, animals and people.

Our Approach

Improved soil and water quality across the region hinges on many people working together to create large areas of climate-resilient land where environmental conservation is practiced.

Healthy Land & Water is supported by a volunteer team, led by a Steering Committee, with two working groups: one focused on urban and developed land and one focused on determining priority areas where conservation practices would have the greatest impact on water quality.

We developed the Watershed Restoration Prioritization Tool to determine priority watersheds in three steps: 1) compare watersheds, 2) visualize actual land cover at two different scales, and 3) plan and implement on-the-ground projects.