Since 2008, The Delta Institute has facilitated a Transportation and Environmental Collaboration Initiative in McHenry County, IL (working with local partners McHenry County Defenders and The

Land Conservancy of McHenry County) and in Northwest Indiana (working with local partners Shirley Heinz Land Trust and Save the Dunes). The primary goal of the Initiative is to strengthen relationships

between environmentalists and transportation professionals to ensure a balanced and informed dialogue between both groups. Through the Chicago Wilderness Sustainability team and working with local partners, Delta has developed local stakeholder groups, hosted a series of educational

workshops, developed consensus-driven natural resource prioritization maps, and developed and implemented an outreach plan grounded in the work of those local stakeholder groups.

NORTHWEST INDIANA PRIORITY RESOURCE OUTREACH MEETING

April 16, 2012

Overview - History

Started in Chicago Wilderness Sustainability Team

Focus on preparing unified map that shows collective agreement on natural resource priorities in managing future road projects.

Northwest Indiana selected to focus on future growth

Worked with local partners

Project Mission

Work with Chicago Wilderness partners in the region to improve understanding and consideration of sensitive natural resources (and the Green Infrastructure Vision) in planning and design for significant surface transportation projects

Facilitate understanding and agreement on resource protection priorities and conduct education on transportation funding and project development process with local environmental stakeholders

Project Goals

Educate transportation professionals about environmental resources

Educate local environmental stakeholders on the transportation funding & project development process

Develop tools to facilitate early engagement between environmentalists and transportation planners

Feedback from Transportation Planners

Environmental experts have been key in identifying critical resource protection areas and coming up with alternatives.

Environmental groups are not unified (don’t know what they want or don’t agree on what they want).

Environmental groups are one of a number of stakeholder groups and don’t always do a good job of reaching out to other stakeholders

Environmental agencies and groups are not always on the same page

Project Background & Timeline

Developed out of Chicago Wilderness Sustainability team

July 2008 - Workshop with 60 attendees Transportation professionals Environmental Resource Agencies Local environmental stakeholders

2009 Work Plan Developed from stakeholder feedback and

implemented project in McHenry County Conducted 4 workshops and meetings Identified additional partners

Timeline (con’t)

2010 Work Plan Engaged local partners

McHenry County, IL: Defenders and Land Conservancy Northwest Indiana: Shirley Heinze

Set priorities for conservation and protection Developed criteria with stakeholder group Host educational workshops

2011 Work Plan Continue engagement with local partners

Added local partner Save the Dunes in Northwest Indiana Refine priorities and develop outreach strategy Host relevant educational webinars for region

Overview - Leaders

Shirley Heinze Land Trust

Save the Dunes

Chicago State University (GIS consultant)

Delta Institute (Facilitators)

Local Partners

Stakeholder Participants

Calumet Stewardship Initiative

Chicago Wilderness Trust Board

Department of Natural Resources, Division of Nature Preserves

Illinois-Indiana SeaGrant Purdue

Indiana Lake Michigan Coastal Program

La Porte County Conservation Trust

Lake County Fish and Game LaPorte County Parks

NIRPC Southeast

Environmental Task Force

The Nature Conservancy Southern Lake Michigan Rim Project

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Wildlife Habitat Council Woodland Savanna

Land Conservancy Chicago State

University Field Museum

PRIORITY RESOURCE MAPSFocus Areas

Map Components

Map Legend Project background Caveats

Data Gaps Other Local Resource Information Best Practices for ALL areas of concern

regardless of priority ranking Need for GIS training and map updates.

GIS Ranking System

Hydrography – High Priority 1pt USGS rivers and streamsHydrography buffer 4pts 100-foot buffer of rivers and streamsIndiana Managed Lands 2pts Land already in protection statusIndiana Managed Lands Buffer 5pts .25mi buffer of Indiana protected landIDNR Trails 2pts If not contained in Indiana Managed Lands layerConservation Easements 2pts Parcels of land protected from developmentFloodplains (FEMA and Lake County, IN) 3pts Areas prone to flooding, as designated by FEMAADID (Advanced ID of Disposal) 5pts Wetlands not suitable for disposalNational Wetland Inventory 3pts US Fish & Wildlife Service-mapped wetlandsNational Wetland Inventory buffer 3pts Half-mile buffer of national wetland inventoryNIRPC Greenways and Blueways 3pts Corridors of open space developed by NIRPCThreatened and Endangered Species 5pts IDNR Natural Heritage dataHeritage Plants 5pts IDNR native plants mapIBI (Indiana Biodiversity Initiative) 5pts Coastal & Estuarine Lands ConservationHydric Soils 1pt NRCS hydric soils dataClassified Forests and Wildlands 4pts Private lands in IDNR classified forest and wetland program2006 Land Cover non-agricultural 3pts Lands classified as non-agriculturalIDNR Salmonid Streams 1pt Streams capable of supporting salmonid speciesCCAP Forest Fragmentation 5pts Coastal Change Analysis ProgramTotal 60pts

Maps - Overview

Future Transportation Projects

RESOURCES

Resources

Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision & related resources

Dept of Interior Road Guidelines NIRPC Blueways and Greenways Plan Shirley Heinze Land Trust Uplands

Inventory Nature Conservancy Protected Areas Other Resources

Upcoming Webinar Series

Transportation Planning & Environmental Collaboration

Spring Webinar SeriesApril 18th, May 16th, June 20th

A four-part webinar series to examine the ways in which transportation professionals and environmentalists can work together to conserve natural resources while meeting

today's growing transportation needs.

List of Events and Dates State-Level Transportation Planning and Toolkits for IL and IN - April 18th Green Infrastructure Vision2.0 Preview - May 16th Local Project Showcase: McHenry County and Northwest Indiana - June 20th Federal Transportation Perspectives and Tools - Date TBD