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Carl Becker, 1949-2006

Carl Becker.

Photo: Courtesy of the Becker Family

Carl Nels Becker, a dedicated advocate for Illinois conservation, died on April 13 at the age of 56, of a heart attack. At the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Chicago Wilderness consortium at The Field Museum, chair John Rogner acknowledged Becker's formative presence at the first meetings back in the mid-1990s — “when ‘Chicago Wilderness’ could fit around a small table.”

Becker, who lived in Petersburg, Illinois, worked most of his career at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, where he was the first executive director of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board and the first chief of the Division of Natural Heritage. He spearheaded the Wildlife Preservation Fund, which allows taxpayers to check a box on their income taxes to support wildlife, and worked to pass legislation allocating a portion of the Real Estate Transfer Tax to conservation. On the national level, he served as president of the Natural Areas Association.

A lifelong birder, Becker helped establish the peregrine falcon breeding program in Chicago. He most recently worked as director of conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois.