Outdoor Play: Learn About Conservation
great for kids - info on different areas of conservation as well as careers in conservation
www.playgroundequipment.com/outdoor-play-learn-about-conservation/
Illinois State Agencies
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Here you will learn about the diversity of the prairie state: from Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline to the fertile soils of the heartland, to the forests and wetlands of the state's southernmost boundaries, Illinois is rich with history, natural resources and scenic beauty. Find out what's new at the Department, learn its history, follow legislation, download applications for licenses or permits, purchase conservation merchandise, or just learn more about the world around you. We hope you enjoy your visit and let us know what you think.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Assuring clean air, land and water depends on all of us - citizens, industry and government - continuing to work together for a cleaner and greener Illinois. There is no real economic security, opportunity or quality of life for our citizens if we do not place a high priority on protecting the environment."
Federal Agencies
http://www.fws.gov/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/ USDA Forest Service
http://www.nps.gov/ National Park Service
Conservation Organizations
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Chicago Wilderness
The Chicago Wilderness coalition is an unprecedented alliance of more than 170 public and private organizations working together to protect, restore, study and manage the precious natural ecosystems of the Chicago region for the benefit of the public.
Prairie Rivers Network
Prairie Rivers Network strives to protect the rivers and streams of Illinois and to promote the lasting health and beauty of watershed communities.
By providing information, sound science, and hands-on assistance, Prairie Rivers helps individuals and community groups become effective river conservation leaders.
Audubon Society
Audubon's mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.
Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
The Bobolinking Project
The Bobolinking Project is a part of Audubon's TogetherGreen initiative with funding provided by Toyota. The project's main goal is to link young people to stewardship and ecological monitoring opportunities at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Bartel Grassland located in Illinois.
Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network
The Illinois Butterly Monitoring Network (IBMN) is a model for butterfly monitoring nationwide. It now monitors all sites within Illinois - including inside the City of Chicago. IBMN is a diverse group of volunteers who, since 1987, have identified and counted butterflies, running more than 3,000 routes on sites in Illinois. Go to this site to learn about our native butterflies and find out about volunteer opportunities.
Land Trust Alliance
Since its founding in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) has helped build a strong land trust movement in America that now includes more than 1,260 conservation organizations. LTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.LTA has supported land trusts through its conferences, workshops, field services, grants, research, publications and an Internet library. LTA has been a champion for land trusts in Washington, DC, bringing new funding and tax incentives for land conservation, and LTA created the Land Trust Standards and Practices to ensure the proper management of land trusts.
The Natural Areas Association
The mission of the Natural Areas Association is to advance the preservation of natural diversity. The Association works to inform, unite, and support persons engaged in identifying, protecting, managing, and studying natural areas and biological diversity across landscapes and ecosystems.
OpenLands Project
Openlands Project, founded in 1963, is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing public open space in northeastern Illinois.
Openlands is one of the nation�s oldest and most successful urban conservation organizations. To date, Openlands Project has taken leadership roles in securing more than 45,000 acres of land in the Chicago area for public parks, forest preserves, land and water greenway corridors, and urban gardens.
Wildlands Project
Reacting to the global extinction crisis, a contraction in Earth's natural diversity unprecedented in 65 million years, a group of prominent conservation biologists and wilderness advocates conceived of a new kind of conservation organization in 1991.
The Wildlands Project would blend science and action. We would avoid band-aid solutions to complex problems. We would communicate the ecological value of wilderness, which is self-willed land where natural processes, not human agency, direct the ebb and flow of life.
American Rivers
American Rivers is a national non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy natural rivers and the variety of life they sustain for people, fish, and wildlife.
Ocean Conservancy
http://www.oceanconservancy.org
For centuries people have exploited the oceans with little thought to the future. But we now face a crossroads. Our very existence depends upon healthy oceans. We at The Ocean Conservancy believe it is not too late. By changing the way people think about the oceans, we can turn the tide of failing ocean health.
National Wildlife Federation
This is the site of the National Wildlife Federation, with information about wildlife conservation , how humans affect the environment, as well as things you can do to protect and save the environment. You'll also find a glossary of ecological terms, information about pollution, and links to other sites (e.g., endangered species).
Conservation Fund
http://www.conservationfund.org
Pioneering a brand of conservation driven by effectiveness, efficiency, and environmental and economic balance, the Fund, a non-membership, non-advocacy organization, is America�s foremost conservation nonprofit.
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club's members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.
Environmental Yellow Pages
http://www.enviroyellowpages.com/Resources/Ecology/restoration_ecology.htm
The environmental industry's worldwide directory.