As western Illinois landowners strive for productive soil, clean water, healthy forests, and abundant wildlife, we realize it can be challenging to meet land management goals. Your Land, Your Legacy is a landowner workshop series that focuses on landowner conservation programs and techniques. According to a recent Illinois Extension survey, western Illinois landowners want to learn more about establishing pollinator plots, managing their forests properly for ecological and financial benefit, controlling invasive plants, prescribed burning, and restoring streams and ponds through skill-based, hands-on field days.

Who?

We aim to focus on small to medium acreage landowners and/or farmers in western Illinois who have an interest in wildlife or conservation management or who have been prescribed conservation practices through USDA, IDNR or other programs.

The Need

A substantial gap exists between the expectations and standards which program managers hold in regard to the performance and implementation of prescribed conservation practices (CRP, EQIP, FDA, CSP, etc) and the understanding and ability of private landowners to attain those expectations and standards within their subject matter knowledge and hands-on experience.

Our Purpose 

The purpose and goals of this program are to create interactions between private landowners and environmental resource professionals; to increase landowner knowledge and awareness of the expectations, standards, and best practices of conservation practices; to provide opportunities for hands-on training in the performance of conservation practices; and to close the gap between what resource managers demand and what landowners can accomplish based on their personal knowledge and experience. Experts in natural resource management will provide guidance, knowledge, and practical experience on commonly prescribed practices.  Overall, this program will contribute to improved implementation of conservation practices which, ultimately, improves the health of our waters, woods, wildlife, soil and other natural resources.

Participant Goals:

• Gain a better understanding of the natural resources that can be managed on their land
• Network with professionals and other landowners who have experience with implementation of conservation practices
• Learn skills and techniques used in the implementation of conservation practices
• Learn strategies to manage risk
• Gain awareness of assistance programs for natural resource management work on private lands
• Develop land management goals

Interested?

Join our Deep Roots newsletter for event and workshop announcements