The Land Conservancy of McHenry County

1. Ensure that the rural and agricultural character of McHenry County is preserved in perpetuity through permanent protection of land and the development of a local conservation ethic that inspires landowners to manage and preserve their property.

2. Preserve 50% of the most vulnerable natural areas in the county that are not slated for public acquisition by working with private landowners on management and preservation of their land.

3. Develop a system of strategically-located, preserved and restored Ambassador Oak Sites that contribute to access to nature in communities, near schools and well-travelled areas of the county.

1. Facilitate ways for farming to continue as a dominant land use feature in the county by working with farmers, farm agencies and other partners to provide succession planning information and improving connections between farmland owners and prospective sustainable farmers.
- Hold workshops on estate planning for farmers in conjunction with local farm agencies like the Farm Bureau.
- Demonstrate alternative, sustainable farming practices on farmland that TLC owns.
- Connect farm owners with young farmers who are looking for land at networking events.

2. Prioritize landowner contact work each year to focus on the 20 most important prospective landowners to secure conservation easements at the most vulnerable natural areas in the county.
- Include landowners with whom we have started working in prior years with the goal of moving them to completing their easements.
- Prioritize new contacts based on one or more of the following factors:
a. Adjacency to TLC-protected land.
b. Adjacency to Public conservation land.
c. Connectivity between protected lands.
d. Existing relationships with landowners.

3. Develop Ambassador Sites at the pace of one every two years.
- Continue programming at Harvard Gateway Nature Park to engage the community through pre-school and elementary school students. Develop hike app for the site that facilitates exploration of the property by individuals.
- Complete acquisition, restoration and public opening for the Wolf Oak Woods Natural Area, including off-street parking, trails, interpretive signs and other amenities.
- Enhance programming at Hennen Conservation Area to encourage more public access and connection to nature. Refine hike app as a tool to facilitate exploration and learning on the property.

TLC has a track record of success that it will continue to build on moving forward.

Specifically:
1. TLC has worked on farmland preservation since 2005, and holds 6 conservation easements on farms ranging in size from 69 acres to 200 acres. More recently, TLC partnered with a regional land conservation organization, Openlands, to obtain federal funds to purchase a farmland easement on a 153 acre farm. Through the partnership, the farm will be leased to a native seed nursery, demonstrating the possibility of transitioning conventionally farmed land to sustainable uses.

2. Since 2002, TLC has preserved over 3,200 acres of land that includes over 1,000 acres of Vulnerable Natural Areas. The organization has a good track record of effective landowner contact work, evidenced by the 95 conservation easements it holds on over 2,300 acres of private land.

3. TLC will build on the success of Harvard Gateway Nature Park and Wolf Oak Woods to expand the Ambassador Site concept to other properties in key locations throughout the county. By using TLC's strong partnerships across the county, we will continue to fill an important conservation niche that exposes a growing number of residents to nature in locations near where they work and live.

TLC's membership surpassed 700 households in 2022, and it has preserved more than 3.200 acres of land in McHenry County. By the end of 2023, membership is expected to surpass 1,000.

Additionally:
- Since 2012, up to 1,000 students a year work with TLC to plant oak trees in the county as part of Project Quercus. Nearly 3,000 trees have been planted since the program began.
- In December 2016, TLC purchased Wolf Oak Woods in the center of McHenry County. The property is visible from Illinois Route 120 and features a magnificent oak tree whose branches arc down to the ground. The project was TLC's first major capital campaign with a goal of $350,000 to cover campaign costs, acquisition, long-term management endowment funds and restoration funding. The campaign was complete in November 2019
- In 2018, TLC was the first land trust in Illinois to use the NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement acquisition program to obtain federal money to buy a permanent easement on farmland. The organization is working to use the federal program to purchase additional farmland easements.
- In 2019, TLC received national Accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission after demonstrating excellence in fundraising practice, land conservation procedures, and financial management.
- In 2021, TLC's Irish Oaks Savanna property was dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve, the highest level of protection awarded natural land in Illinois, and the third TLC property to receive this recognition. Irish Oaks now joins fewer than 600 properties across the state that are recognized as irreplaceable parts of Illinois' natural heritage.
- In 2022, TLC worked with a local municipality to preserve 275 acres at the headwaters of one of Northern Illinois' highest quality streams. The property includes 5 miles of equestrian trails that will be opened to the public in 2023. TLC secured 80% of the funding needed to buy the land through two grants, and is now assisting the municipality's leadership with raising the remaining 20%.