Editor’s Essay

Priorities and Participation

It has to be a sobering time for the president-elect. Not a week after the election of Chicagoan Barack Obama as the next president of the United States, the pundits were advancing theories on how he will approach the enormous challenges facing him. Will he take a “big bang” approach — attack all fronts immediately, from economic meltdown to war to the climate crisis — or take them on one at a time?

On a regional scale, Chicago Wilderness faces an equally critical list of challenges. Consider just a few of them: Despite significant restoration efforts, many of the roughly 360,000 acres of protected natural areas still suffer from lack of management and funding. They are declining in ecological health, losing potentially irreplaceable plants and animals, becoming overwhelmed by invasive species, and languishing without the natural fire they need. Open spaces, farmland, and potential future preserves are lost daily to poorly planned development. Climate change may make it even more difficult to maintain biodiversity. And fewer children are getting the time outdoors they need to become caring stewards.

Man! It’s enough to cause a person to make like a prairie crayfish and head for the nearest hole in the ground. Yet Chicago Wilderness, an alliance of conservation organizations that started 12 years ago at 34 members and now numbers 234, has done anything but. It has instead created a bold vision for this region: to foster a culture of conservation and make real change on the ground.

Chicago Wilderness has accomplished much already, as a catalyst for cooperation and a strong voice for nature. But it became clear to many of its leaders that the alliance needed to push harder on its own “big bang” approach. So Chicago Wilderness identified four core initiatives: restoring and managing ecosystems on protected lands, making conservation central to regional land-use choices, reconnecting youth with nature, and addressing climate change’s effect on local ecosystems. To succeed, they believe, these fronts must all move forward simultaneously.

This issue is full of people meeting these priorities in their own ways. In “Our Climate Challenge”, we look at what a climate shift may mean for our region, and what the conservation community is doing about it. In “Rare, Endangered, & Saved on Flickr”, Carol Freeman gets the word out on endangered species through her photography. And in “The Secret Garden”, read about Michael and Amelia Howard, who saw nature and children as integral to the future of their community and so took it upon themselves to build a nature center right in the heart of the city.

Like the Howards, we can’t look to structures of authority for all of the answers. Both our president-elect and Chicago Wilderness have been emphatic: institutions can’t claim sole responsibility for fixing our problems. They are powerless without the fervent participation of everyone who has a stake (and that’s everyone). Leaders can set the tone and help identify goals, but we have to figure out where we fit in.

So try a habitat restoration workday this weekend. Take the family or class for a hike. Learn about a native animal. Testify at a city council meeting. Or volunteer with any one of Chicago Wilderness’ incredible member organizations. (Check out some of the suggestions from our Tenth Anniversary Issue.) Put your best skills to work, wherever your passion and enthusiasm lie. Sure, the problems are big and intimidating. But can we fix them? To borrow a phrase from the international man of the hour, “Yes We Can!”

A New Home Base

Chicago Wilderness magazine has a great new home at the Chicago Academy of Sciences’ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, a place immersed in native plants and rivers of kids learning about nature. You also may notice a new look to the magazine’s logo and inside cover. It’s all part of a greater sharing of resources within the alliance to reach even more residents. While you may see some changes along the way, expect continued high-quality coverage, with the region’s best photos and insights on the rich nature in our backyard.