“Investing In The Nature Of Southwestern Illinois”
Commonfields www.HeartLandsConservancy.org
A Quarterly Publication of HeartLands Conservancy
Winter 2014
Directors Robert J. Hilgenbrink, Chair IL Green Economy Network Frank O. Miles, Vice Chair Southwestern Illinois College Lester Harnetiaux, Secretary Bond County Realtors Darrell Brink, Treasurer Brink Brothers Grain & Trucking William Boardman Firehouse Contracting, LLC Dennis Kirkham (Land Owner) Jane Eckert Eckert AgriMarketing Terry Lammers Regions Charles Meier IL State Representative Ron O’Connor O’Connor & Partners Cliff Schuette Schuette Seed Company Robert Weck Southwestern Illinois College
What’s Inside Boardman Easement Native Plants
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Ways to Give
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Membership
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Employee Spotlight 6 Upcoming Events
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Thank You for 25 Years 8
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Investing In The Nature Of Southwestern Illinois
2014 is an exciting time for HeartLands Conservancy; the year in which we celebrate 25 years of “Investing in the Nature of Southwestern Illinois”. Would the founders of Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development, now HeartLands Conservancy, be proud of our accomplishments, and pleased with our vision for the future? Would they value our recently crafted strategic priorities; our direction for the next several years?
Charter board members Charles Huelsman (left) and Marvin Ries (right)
To answer some of these questions I dug deep into the file cabinets and pulled out the organization’s first, albeit somewhat dusty, strategic plan, dutifully hand-typed back in 1989. One of the first things that I realized was the foresight of this group to form specifically to address natural resource concerns on a regional basis. Over the years we’ve developed numerous watershed, and other types of resource plans, and have been successful by working beyond typical jurisdictional boundaries. So, our current scale, or extent of work, appears to remain an effective means of accomplishing our work. I then scanned their vision: “to address the rural economy, water quality and quantity, orderly growth and fish & wildlife”. Wow, we’ve changed terminology and simplified the message over the past 25 years, but today’s work continues along the same general lines of our forefather’s vision. Over the years we’ve invested millions in supporting our local dairy and livestock producers, and developing cost-share programs to set aside marginal, floodprone ground. We’ve completed numerous plans and implemented projects to address both water quality and quantity. We now refer to orderly growth, as building greener communities, our effort to balance resource protection with the inevitable growth of the region. One of our greatest accomplishments has been to work towards the protection of over 5,000 acres of open space within the region, “forever homes” for our fish and wildlife. We face many new threats to our ecosystems, including the rapid advancement of invasive plant and animal species and climate change. Over the upcoming years additional threats will be realized. However, so long as we remain true to our vision, we’ll continue to identify and implement innovative solutions which support our efforts to Invest in the Nature of Southwestern Illinois. Please join us in this journey!