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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHICAGO WILDERNESS
WHEREAS, in 1996, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (the District) was one of 34 organizations that joined to form Chicago Wilderness, a new and unprecedented partnership of public and private organizations dedicated to working together to preserve and improve nature conservation in our metropolitan region; and
WHEREAS, Chicago Wilderness works across geographic and political boundaries, to include regional watersheds and ecosystems that interconnect and span from southwestern Wisconsin through northeastern Illinois, northeastern Indiana and into the southwestern tip of Michigan; and
WHEREAS, twenty years later, Chicago Wilderness now has more than 200 member organizations all working to improve the health of natural communities and the quality of life of human communities in this region; and
WHEREAS, Chicago Wilderness has become a model for conservation leadership in an urban/suburban matrix, resulting in national and international recognition and inspiring the formation of the Metropolitan Greenspace Alliance, a national network of urban conservation coalitions working to promote a collaborative approach of knowledge sharing and best practices across major metropolitan areas; and
WHEREAS, Chicago Wilderness, through its launch of the Leave No Child Inside initiative, highlighted the importance of nature and unstructured time outdoors to the healthy physical, mental and emotional development of children and resulted in the passage of the Children's Bill of Outdoor Rights in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Chicago Wilderness is continually evolving to best advance our shared vision for a thriving and resilient environment that benefits all who call this region home. In 2015, Chicago Wilderness completed a strategic planning effort that resulted in a renewed focus of the alliance's mission and articulated six (6) critical conservation strategies to: 1. Protect ...
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