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PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AMENDMENT
Request: Requesting authorization for the Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”) to amend its Partnership Agreement with Audubon Great Lakes, Chicago, Illinois.
Reason: The Forest Preserves wishes to extend its partnership agreement with Audubon Great Lakes for an additional year and continue its annual financial contribution towards the Audubon Habitat Restoration Internship program.
Contract Period: 4/1/2021 - 12/31/2022
Proposed Partnership Agreement Extension: 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2023
Fiscal Impact: Not to exceed $75,000.00. Previously authorized contributions total a not to exceed amount of $150,000.00.
Account(s): Professional Services 51031.520840; Special or Co-op Programs 51031.521313; Grant and Mitigation 51010.521444 and 51010.520840; and all future Professional Services and Co-op Program accounts
Concurrences:
The Chief Financial Officer has approved this item. Final amendment is subject to legal review and approval.
District(s): 4, 5, 6, 17
Summary: The Forest Preserves is requesting to extend the Audubon Habitat Restoration Internship program for an additional year and to continue its annual financial contribution of not-to-exceed $75,000.00. The proposed extension will allow for continuity of existing professional development programs funded directly by the Forest Preserves and avoid conflict with the simultaneous bidding and deployment of new Conservation Corps programs funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). A Request for Proposals (RFP) for ARPA-funded programs is presently being let through the Forest Preserves’ public solicitation process and proposed ARPA-funded programs are expected to be presented to the Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners in the near future. The Forest Preserves then intends to issue a separate RFP seeking proposals for new, longer term Conservation Corps program opportunities which would be funded in-part through the Forest Preserves’ annual budget starting in 2024.
Conservation Corps programs are part of the Next Century Conservation Plan and the Expansion Strategy for the Conservation Corps, which defines conservation corps as paid employment that mobilizes people who reflect the diversity of Cook County to maintain and restore the land to ecological health. The Audubon Habitat Restoration Internship program engages a crew of approximately eight (8) adult participants in hands-on ecological conservation with a primary focus on sites within the Calumet, Palos, and Tinley Creek regional preserves, and may include work in other regions. Participants receive training in herbicide application, prescribed fire, stewardship, and chainsaw operation, in addition to experience leading various community engagement and volunteer workday events. The program is oriented towards participants interested in pursuing a career in land management, ecology and related fields, with a focus on developing participants’ conservation, leadership, and project management skills. The Audubon Habitat Restoration Internship program is administered by Audubon Great Lakes through an agreement that was originally approved by the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners on 2/24/2021 (Board Item No. 21-0117). Conservation Corps programs provide youth and young adult participants with paid environmental education and job skills training within the conservation field, with a focus on ecological restoration in the Forest Preserves.
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