The Nature Conservancy in Illinois

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The Nature Conservancy in Illinois

Protecting nature in the Prairie State since 1957. Explore our work at nature.org/illinois.
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05/29/2026

🚨HELP US CROWN THE CUTEST BEE IN THE MIDWEST🚨

Our team is locked in a heated debate: Which of these 9 tiny native bees is the cutest in the Midwest?

We can't agree AT ALL and it's been DAYS. 🫠 So we need YOU to weigh in:
👉 Swipe through the line-up
👉 Choose your favorite
👉 Comment your pick below

Who deserves the title of Most Adorable Native Bee? 👑 🐝

Bonus: Tell us why you picked your bee! Its fuzzy face? Its color? Behavior?

🏆 Winner gets bragging rights—and we may finally get peace and quiet on our team. For a minute, anyway. 🤭 😇

05/23/2026

Looking to enjoy nature in a new way? Try birding! 🐦 Spring is the best time to pick up your binoculars and get outside to start a new hobby and spot migrating birds. No special equipment is really needed to start birding – just get outside and start listening for birds!

🌲 If you live near lush forests, look for a variety of warblers. To spot these little feathered friends, you'll need to look far up into the tree canopy! Our top tip: check out field guides and bird ID apps like Merlin to help you identify these birds by their calls and songs.

🌳 If you live near shrubby woods or in/near an urban area... look for indigo buntings, peregrine falcons and northern house wrens. Our top tip: Join a local birding club or go on birding hikes at your local nature center or park. These are great ways to connect with other, more experienced bird watchers in your area and learn directly from them!

🌾 If you live near open fields or prairies... look for bobolinks, dickcissels and western meadowlarks. Our top tip: bring a pair of binoculars to help you better see these birds from across a grassy meadow (and help you learn how to identify bird species).

💧 If you live near wetlands/marshes... look for bigger birds like white pelicans, great egrets, snow geese and tundra swans. Our top tip: write down the birds you're seeing and hearing and record any other nature observations to learn how these areas (and its avian visitors) change season to season.

Check out our list of bird hotspots and plan a visit to enjoy this natural phenomenon. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/great-lakes/stories-in-the-great-lakes/midwest-migratory-birds/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

05/22/2026

Perhaps money does grow on trees — and in wetlands. 💧🐸

Wetlands are natural sponges that soak up extra water and filter pollutants, improving water quality and reducing flooding for nearby communities. These benefits translate into measurable boons for residents, economy and environment — especially when applied on a large scale like the H2Ohio program, a collaborative, comprehensive clean water program in Ohio that TNC helped launch back in 2019.

Wetland restoration projects from H2Ohio have proven to be wise, cost-effective investments where benefits outweigh the costs for people, businesses, governments and, of course, the environment. The data says it all:

💧 For every $1 invested in wetland restoration through H2Ohio, residents saw a return of $8 in economic benefits.
💧 H2Ohio generated more than $330 million in statewide economic benefits in 2024.
💧 Nearly 8.9 million Ohioans benefit from improved water quality because of H2Ohio projects.

Now, imagine the impact that a program like H2Ohio could have in Illinois, or even scaled up to a regional or even national level. Programs like these remind us that nature underpins our economic prosperity.

Learn about more successful programs in the Midwest like H2Ohio that help uplift both our economies and our well-being. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/midwest/stories-in-the-midwest/midwest-nature-economy/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

05/15/2026

🌟 🌳 Quiet achievers. Long-term legends. Ecosystem MVPs.

Swipe through to meet the Midwest oaks at the head of the class—and learn why planting and protecting them makes a lasting difference for generations of wildlife, people and our wild spaces. 🐛 🐦‍⬛ 🐿️

05/12/2026

Sign up for a guided nature walking tour at The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands led by our summer interpreter. Each of the weekend walks focuses on a different area of Nachusa Grasslands’ prairies, woodlands and wetlands.

Nachusa Grasslands is located about two hours west of Chicago. Get all the details and sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080945afa82baafb6-nachusa9 #/

05/07/2026

The key ingredient for adoption of nature-friendly regenerative agriculture on a wide scale? Collaboration. 🤝🌱

A new TNC-coordinated roadmap — developed with partners across agriculture, conservation, and industry — spotlights the critical role that trusted advisors can play in helping farmers implement beneficial ag practices across the Midwest and North America.

Learn more about the report and register for our upcoming overview webinar at 11AM CT on May 13th. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/provide-food-and-water-sustainably/food-and-water-stories/north-america-regenerative-crop-systems/farm-advisor-roadmap/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

📸 Alex Snyder/TNC

05/06/2026

“If there’s anything that gives me hope, it’s that nature is very surprising in the adaptability of species and individuals to take on new conditions,” says Jeff Walk, Midwest strategy director at The Nature Conservancy, in a Dubuque Telegraph Herald article on how the Driftless Area’s ecosystems are being shaped by climate change.

The Driftless, which extends down to the northwest corner of Illinois, was not glaciated in the last ice age and so has a rolling topography full of river valleys and forested hills with great variability in microclimates. As quoted by reporter Reade Snelling, Walk discusses how this variability might be beneficial for species adaptation to climate change, among other factors.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B9i9wJXqF/

05/05/2026

🦬 It’s baby buffalo season at The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands Preserve. Each calving season, 20 to 30 American buffalo (scientifically known as Bison bison) calves are born, on the average, from mid-April through May.

Nachusa Grasslands’ buffalo herd was established in 2014, when 30 animals were introduced from three Nature Conservancy preserves in South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. The herd numbers about 100 animals — the largest in the state — and roams across 1,500 acres of restored prairie, savanna and woodland in northwestern Illinois.

The Nature Conservancy manages the herd to remain as wild as possible. At Nachusa Grasslands, the animals breed, give birth, graze and care for their young with minimal human intervention. That approach helps restore natural processes on the prairie, where buffalo play an important role through selective grazing, wallowing and nutrient cycling.

Plan your visit to Nachusa Grasslands! https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/nachusa-grasslands/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

05/02/2026

We're all fired up for spring. 🔥

After living with periodic fires over thousands of years, many plants and animal species in Illinois and across the Midwest have evolved to rely on regular fires to thrive or even survive. While spring is best known for its beautiful blooms, it's also one of the best seasons (along with autumn) to conduct safe and effective prescribed burns—leaving a short 8-12 week window to implement this critical restoration tool.

That's why TNC fire crews have been teaming up with partners and traveling around the Midwest to put fire on the ground this spring. By bringing more crew members to prescribed fires, we are able to strategically burn more acres across state lines. Teamwork makes the dream work! 🤝

Get a glimpse of where sparks have been flying lately across the Midwest:

🏞️ Fire crew members from TNC in Ohio and Michigan, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW) geared up for a 905-acre prescribed fire among the rolling hills of The Wilds in southeastern Ohio.
🌲 Our Southern Wisconsin Burn Crew and longtime TNC volunteers treated 57 acres of woodlands at the Pine Hollow preserve in Wisconsin's Baraboo Hills. The fire will help knock back thicker underbrush that can crowd out diverse native species that need more sunlight to thrive.
🎑 In Illinois, the spring burn season started early, in February. In Southern Illinois, fire crews assisted in over 11,300 acres burned with partners, the second-best spring on record. Fire crews in northern Illinois have been collaborating with partners to burn several units at TNC's Nachusa Grasslands Preserve as well as IDNR's Franklin Creek State Natural Area. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Level up your prescribed fire knowledge. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/midwest/stories-in-the-midwest/midwest-fire/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

Video footage of Pine Hollow burn in Wisconsin by Kevin Sink Photography

05/01/2026

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed a Farm Bill, taking an important step toward providing farmers, ranchers and forest landowners across the country with the resources and support they need to be good stewards of the land. 🌾

The Farm Bill provides $8 billion a year to help private landowners invest in healthy soil, clean water, wildlife habitat and resilient forests—all while keeping their operations productive and economically viable.

Now it’s time to keep that progress going in the Midwest and across the nation. We hope the Senate will advance a new five-year bill to give farmers, ranchers and forest landowners the long-term stability they need.

Photo of wheat field by Ken Geiger/TNC

https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/farm-bill-passes-house/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

04/30/2026

Join The Nature Conservancy staff at 9 a.m. on July 18th for a two-hour guided paddling tour of the Emiquon Preserve. Located near Lewistown, Illinois, Emiquon is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the Midwest and bursts with life in the summer.

This event is free and open to all ages, but advance registration is requested. Personal kayaks or canoes are welcome. You may also request to be added to the waitlist for a TNC-provided canoe or kayak.

Learn more and register at https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/events/paddling-at-emiquon/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

Address

Wrigley Building, 400 North Michigan Avenue, Suite S1100
Chicago, IL
60611

Telephone

+13125802100

Website

https://www.nature.org/illinois

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