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Chicago Wilderness: An Ecosystem Management Plan

Chicago Wilderness: An Ecosystem Management Plan. Katy Berlin Shelly Charron Lisa DuRussel NRE 317 April 11, 2001. Introduction. 200,000 acres preserved Covers southeastern Wisconsin, 6 counties in the Chicago region, and northwestern Indiana

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Chicago Wilderness: An Ecosystem Management Plan

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  1. Chicago Wilderness: An Ecosystem Management Plan Katy Berlin Shelly Charron Lisa DuRussel NRE 317 April 11, 2001

  2. Introduction • 200,000 acres preserved • Covers southeastern Wisconsin, 6 counties in the Chicago region, and northwestern Indiana • Ecosystems include woodlands, forest, prairie, streams, and wetlands • 124 public and private organizations involved

  3. Protected Land in the Chicago Wilderness Region

  4. Why Is Ecological Management of the Chicago Region Important? • High concentration of globally significant natural communities • Contains almost 200 endangered or threatened species • Contains rare tallgrass prairies and open oak woodlands

  5. Major Threats to the Chicago Area • Habitat fragmentation and loss • Exotic species • Fire suppression

  6. Goals of the Plan • To restore natural communities • Promote sustainable development • Increase citizen involvement • Prevent the ongoing loss of critical habitat

  7. Ecological Management, Research, and Monitoring Plan Objectives • Continuing research and monitoring is important to improve management techniques • Ongoing adaptive management is essential for all of the natural communities • Ecological management of the region’s natural communities must increase substantially • Management plans developed for each site using management practices adapted to site conditions and appropriate to the goals of the site • Inform the public of what can be expected, and where possible, use practices that include both short term and long term results

  8. Land Management Practices • Prescribed burning • Restoration and management of hydrology • Re-establishment of native species • Control of invasive plant species • Management of problem wildlife • Management plans

  9. Examples of the Plan in Action • Private business owners agree to landscape with native plants • During bird migration periods, most downtown businesses turn their lights off • Public highway authorities control salt use and retain storm water • Large and small scale burning of public lands to control invasive plant species

  10. Key Players in the Plan • Government agencies • local, state, and intergovernmental organizations • Private sector • NGO’s, business, industry, farmland owners, and private land owners • Volunteers

  11. Plan Evaluation: The Chicago Wilderness Report Card

  12. Hierarchical Context • Integrates both local and regional planning • Plan is used at both the ecosystem and landscape level • Concern for genetic variability and population size B

  13. Ecological Boundaries • Works across political boundaries by incorporating portions of Wisconsin and Indiana • Key players include: • Federal and Local Governmental Agencies • Private Sectors B-

  14. Ecological Integrity • Conservation of viable populations of native species • Invasive species control • Maintaining natural disturbance regimes • Prescribed burns • Reintroduction of native species • Native seed bank A

  15. Data Collection • Ecological inventory used to establish a baseline in which to measure change over time C

  16. Monitoring A- • A central focus of the plan • Monitoring methods: • Choose indicators • Set thresholds • Design sampling protocols • Use a region-wide monitoring program to detect change at three levels: • Landscape • Natural and human communities • Species • Used to evaluate and improve management techniques

  17. Adaptive Management • Another central focus of the plan • Conservation design is site-based from a single natural area to an entire region • Includes a flexible 100 year plan A

  18. Interagency Cooperation • 124 public and private organizations involved • Education across political boundaries B+

  19. Humans Embedded in Nature • Objectives of the plan include citizen involvement and sustainable development • Organizations provide educational programs and nature walks free of charge • Volunteer stewardship days held at over 200 sites A-

  20. Values As Determinants of Behavior • Plan identifies human values and threats to these values through a series of questions: • What do we want to protect and enhance within this site? • What do we want these targets to look like in x years? • What could prevent us from achieving this vision of our targets? B-

  21. Final Report Card Chicago Wilderness GPA: 3.23

  22. “The Chicago Wilderness Management Plan is Grrrrrreat!” Mayor Richard M. Daley

  23. Information Taken from: http://www.chicagowilderness.org

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