The Nature Conservancy Receives Grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation

June 19, 2007 —

WHAT: The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation awarded a $295,355 grant to The Nature Conservancy for the acquisition of cave, pond, forest, and marsh habitat across 128 acres in the Illinois Ozarks.

The grant will allow the Conservancy to acquire several properties within the Illinois Ozarks totaling 128 acres. These areas are located near the Shawnee National Forest and include related habitat such as an underground natural area and an important wetland ecosystem.

The Foundation is committed to the preservation of diverse natural areas across the state. In the last five years, the Foundation has awarded The Nature Conservancy six grants totaling $3,598,792 for the preservation of 1,796 acres. In total, the Foundation has funded the protection of 11,500 acres in the last five years through $23 million in grants to a range of organizations.

WHY: The Illinois Ozarks is a large forest system supporting nearly 500 wildlife species, including 48 mammals, 237 birds, 52 reptiles, 57 amphibians and 109 species of fish. Many rare and endangered species thrive here including the golden mouse and spotted sunfish. It is also the only place in the state where one can find some species of vegetation such as shortleaf pine and plains scorpion. The natural ecosystem is interrupted by long, narrow transects of cleared land that cut deep into the forest. Through the grant, The Nature Conservancy will acquire several separate pieces of land in an ongoing effort to consolidate large forest areas that benefit migrating songbirds and other species. By acquiring properties within the area and restoring them to forest, the Conservancy will help significantly reduce fragmentation within the region and support the animals and plants needed to create a healthy ecosystem.

WHERE: The Illinois Ozarks stretch along the banks of the Mississippi River in Southern Illinois in Alexander, Jackson and Union counties. The range of geographically distinct natural communities that border the area make it especially ecologically diverse.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.