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  • Our Conservation Program

    The National Great River’s Research and Education Center conservation program helps implement, plan, monitor and administratively support on-the-ground preservation practices on private and public lands among various watersheds in Illinois through its Land Conservation Specialist program and the Habitat Strike Team. We have partnered with federal and state organizations, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, respectively, to assist private landowners and agricultural producers with conservation planning and habitat management customized to their land and conservation goals. Although our work occurs mostly in uplands, preservation in the upland improves terrestrial wildlife habitat resulting in positive effects on streams and tributaries that feed into Illinois’s large rivers.

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    Habitat Strike Team

    The Strike Team works within a 90-mile radius of the NGRREC field station and coordinates with IRAP.

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    Land Conservation Specialist

    Land Conservation Specialists work directly with agricultural producers to determine their conservation needs and goals as they relate to federal conservation programs.