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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING THE FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY’S SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCY PLAN FOR RECEIVING THE BEST GREEN PRACTICES AWARD FROM THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF PARK DISTRICTS
WHEREAS, on November 1, 2019, the Forest Preserves of Cook County was honored with a Best Green Practices Award for its Sustainability and Climate Resiliency Plan from the Illinois Association of Park Districts at a ceremony in Wheeling, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the Plan was developed to harness the various strengths within the Forest Preserves and to create an effective strategy to address the pressing environmental issues of our time: climate change, pollution, invasive species, and habitat loss and fragmentation; and
WHEREAS, the Plan, adopted in September 2018, is dedicated to implementing responsible practices to mitigate both local and global environmental stressors and to ensure that our public lands and the communities they serve continue to thrive in the future; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves engaged over 50 partner organizations and other key stakeholders in the creation of the Plan and these partners provided key recommendations and challenged the Forest Preserves to become a leader in sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the main goals of the Plan are for the Forest Preserves to become carbon neutral by 2050 and to implement a roadmap that will allow the Forest Preserves to be resilient in a changing climate, which means modifying management practices to better protect ecosystem functions and ensure sustainable social, cultural and recreational uses of these important public lands; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Toni Preckwinkle, President; and the Board of Commissioners of the Forest Preserves congratulate all involved in the creation of the Sustainability and Climate Resiliency Plan for receiving the Illinois Association of Park District’s Best Green Practices Award and thank them for their commitment to the mission of the Forest Preserves; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be presented to the awardees as a token of appreciation for their service to the Forest Preserves of Cook County and the residents of Cook County.end