Save the Dunes is coordinating the release of the “Conservation Action Planning in the Calumet Region” report that aligns and integrates the CAPs developed in previous years into a collective framework. “Our goal with the release of this report is to facilitate communications with new and existing conservation partners, community stakeholders, and potential funding bodies. Our partners and the community we serve share the same goals for the environment. Our hope is this comprehensive planning resource helps us carry out our collective vision for the Calumet region so that this special place can be enjoyed for generations to come” says Save the Dunes Executive Director, Betsy Maher.

Preserving lands and waters improves human and wildlife health, protects rare species, and brings the benefits of nature to the people of a region that has been challenged by more than a century of industrial and urban development. “The Indiana Dunes are part of the greater Calumet region. Here, the shores of Lake Michigan intersect with wetlands, rivers, savannas, forests, and prairies, which collectively produce an abundance of plant and wildlife biodiversity – but only if we protect and restore what’s left of this precious landscape,” says Maher.

The CLCP helped to develop this regional approach for conservation action planning and have been working with stakeholders representing local organizations, land managers, and state and federal agencies for more than ten years employing a globally recognized framework for conservation action planning.

CLCP partners include Save the Dunes, Shirley Heinze Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, National Parks Conservation Association, Audubon Great Lakes, Openlands, Metropolitan Planning Council, The Wetlands Initiative, and The Field Museum. The work was supported with funding from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and ArcelorMittal, now Cleveland-Cliffs.

 Mark Bouman, Chicago Region Program Director in the Keller Science Action Center at The Field Museum, said that “Field Museum scientists have long been aware of the special beauty of the natural history of the Calumet region, which is one of the birthplaces of the science of ecology.”

The Field Museum has worked with local groups to create a Calumet National Heritage Area Management Plan and the Calumet Voices/National Stories exhibit now open at the Museum. “What’s exciting is that these Conservation Action Plans provide a coordinated roadmap for how people in this 21^st century can work together to face the challenges and meet the opportunities these special places face.”

“I hope the plan invites discussion, sparks dialogue with a broad and new group of stakeholders, and moves toward actions that ensure the next generation benefits from this natural history,” says Bouman. 

Each of the nine Conservation Action Plans outlined in the “Conservation Action Planning in the Calumet Region” report detail the conservation vision, geographic scope, conservation targets, human well-being targets, conservation threats, and conservation strategies for each focus area including focus area maps that showcase the key features on the landscape.