The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Fran Harty

Director of Special Projects

Brief Biography

Fran Harty may be loyal to his cowboy hat, but he’s a man who wears many hats.

On any given day, Fran, director of special projects for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois, can be seen in the field alongside staff and volunteers, meeting with corporate executives to secure funding for conservation projects or lobbying government officials to pass stewardship and land protection legislation.

During his nine years with the Conservancy in Illinois, some of Fran’s biggest accomplishments include working with partners to save 2,000 acres of savanna at the Kankakee Sands Preserve and securing a 353-acre tract of dolomite prairie from the Joliet Army Training Area to be added to Midewin Tallgrass Prairie.
However, his accomplishments don’t stop there. Fran has helped:

• Secure a $1 million gift from CenterPoint Properties LLC that will sustain the volunteer program at Midewin through an endowment fund,
• Establish the Prairie State Conservation Coalition, currently serving as the president,
• Helped write and pass the Illinois Prescribed Burning Act,
• Assisted in securing more than $5 million in grants from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation for conservation efforts,
• Dedicate nine preserves throughout Illinois as “State Nature Preserves.”

Though Fran has had many successes, there is still work to be done. He says there are very important landscapes still in need of protection, and he’s working to grow the Prairie State Conservation Coalition to accomplish that. He’s also working to pass legislation that would provide a state funding source for conservation land trusts, grow the Red-Headed Woodpecker Fund for Kankakee Sands and grow the endowment fund for Midewin.

Fran has a Bachelor of Forest Science degree and a Master’s degree in Forest Ecology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and his favorite part of his job is working with “smart, creative and committed people.”

Fran Harty

Director of Special Projects

Read Fran Harty's Full Biography

Read Fran Harty's Full Biography

Read Fran Harty's Full Biography