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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 the University of Illinois (the "University"), Champaign, Illinois and the Chicago Zoological Society ("CZS"), Brookfield, Illinois.
Reason: The Forest Preserves wishes to extend and increase its partnership agreement with the University and CZS in order to expand the Illinois Zoological and Wildlife Health Management Residency program. Given the success and productivity of the initial residency, which launched in 2022, the Forest Preserves is seeking to extend the program through 2031, providing the opportunity for a total of three additional residents to participate over the term of the agreement. This amendment would also add a second wildlife resident position into a rotation that selects a new resident every other year (2024, 2026, 2028). Each residency term would overlap for a single year to allow for mentorship between residents and integration with existing research operations.
The residency is the nation's first and only veterinary residency program focused on free-ranging wildlife health management. The three-year program provides clinical training that enables residents to become competent in free-ranging wildlife health to meet the eligibility requirements for accreditation by the American College of Zoological Medicine, the certifying body for veterinary zoo and wildlife medicine specialists. The resident provides professional veterinary medical services for Forest Preserves field programs and assists with laboratory and field research to maintain wildlife and ecosystem health in Cook County. The program has been honored with several awards and has already made numerous important discoveries related to local wildlife health.
The initial residency program was originally approved by the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners on 2/8/2022, per Board ...
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