PARTNERS FOR CONSERVATION
            Effective January 1, 2008, the successes of the Illinois Conservation 2000 Program will be extended and refocused. A bill (HB1780) that was signed by the governor on August 13, 2007 continues conservation efforts until 2021 with a new program that will be known as “Partners in Conservation.”
 In this bill, funds are authorized for planning, preservation, and water protection, to be used for partnering with private landowners, government, and not-for-profit organizations, and for personnel and other costs, according to the Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in their September newsletter Conservation Catch-All.  It would also eliminate the Department of Transportation’s use of these funds and raise general fund transfers into the Partners for Conservation Fund to $14 million a year from fiscal year 2008 through 2021. The transfers have been $7-11 million the last three years.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in a January 2007 brochure explains the need for this bill this way: Illinois can support everything from forest, to prairie to cypress swamp. Yet, most of Illinois is highly modified from its natural state: estimates are that less than 0.1 percent of the State’s land supports high quality natural habitats. Illinois, considered the “Prairie State” has less than 1 percent of its native prairie remaining, which has had a huge negative impact on wildlife. At one time, Illinois was 60 percent covered in tall grass prairie. Illinois has lost of 90% of its original wetlands and is ranked sixth highest state in the nation in terms of percent of wetlands lost.
The IDNR acknowledges that most landowners want what is best for their land. Knowing this, IDNR will partner with and assist non-State landowners at a grass roots level to preserve and restore our natural resources. Partners for Conservation continues to recognize that the best means of advancing conservation on private lands is through voluntary efforts – incentives and other kinds of financial and technical assistance to willing landowners.
According to the IDNR, the Partners for Conservation Program will partner with state and federal agencies along with non-governmental grass roots environmental organizations to assist landowners to implement conservation projects that protect and enhance wetlands, natural areas, and wildlife habitat. Ecosystem Partnerships formed around major watersheds in Illinois will continue.
If you have a conservation project on your land needing funds or technical assistance, the IDNR Contact for our area including the Sugar-Pecatonica watershed is Nancy Williamson, IDNR Ecosystem Administrator for Region 2, Bartlett. Williamson can be contacted by calling 847-608-3100 ext 2051. Board members on the Sugar-Pec Partnership from Stephenson County are Jennifer Nowicki, Joe Ginger, Keith Blackmore, and Della Moen. At your USDA Service Center, your Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS staff can provide technical assistance and help you take advantage of established state and federal Programs.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 09/26/07 (for publication on 09/29/07 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org