The visionary

Back when forest preserves covered only a few hundred acres in DuPage, it didn't take much to lead the county's forest preserve district.

The director's job essentially was treated as a patronage post for aged political insiders in the twilight of their influence.

That changed when Chuck Johnson showed up to interview for the post in 1962 with no political cache and a plan to actually make the forest preserve district relevant.

"He was so obviously the best man for the job and we pushed for him," said Frank Bellinger, a retired county board member and forest preserve commissioner who voted to hire Johnson.

"We didn't want the same old same old that we had seen so many times, where you get some retired Republican committeeman who wanted some little job in retirement but wasn't really competent at all."

When Johnson retired 32 years later, most of his original plan had been realized and the job of directing the forest preserve district had been changed forever.

"He had the vision to realize this county was changing and if we didn't do something to address open space needs and our environment, we would lose it forever," DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said.

"He built the district from nothing into one of the best in the country."

During Johnson's tenure, the district grew from about 1,600 acres to more than 20,000. He also helped establish the Forest Foundation -- now known as The Conservation Foundation -- the area's leading conservancy and preservation agency.

"To me, the whole environmental movement in that area started with Chuck because when he became director of the forest preserve, he went into it with so many plans about preserving land," said Johnson's wife, Bev.

"Like, when he'd pursue buying land on a river system, it was for improvements to the area, like flood control."

For the professionalism he brought to the forest preserve and for helping create The Conservation Foundation and preserving thousands of acres of open space residents still enjoy today, Johnson ranks second among DuPage County's most influential environmentalists.

Man with a plan

Johnson was serving as Downers Grove's forester and public works superintendent when he applied for the director's job at the forest preserve district.

"I was hopeful and thought I gave a pretty good interview," he said. "The gist of my proposal was putting a strong emphasis on acquiring land before it was too late."

And it wasn't just getting the land for preservation purposes. He had scoped out the county and developed maps that showed what land would serve the interests of the county and its residents best.

Eventually, forest preserve properties would house education centers, golf courses and equestrian centers and offer scads of other passive uses.

Johnson preached passive recreation for the properties, not commercial enterprises.

"You could almost say he personally spearheaded the district to go out and acquire land and make it more than just a park district," said Bob Fisher, a Downers Grove birdwatcher and conservationist. "He provided leadership and vision at a time when nobody else was."

When his vision exceeded the limits of what could be accomplished within the constraints of his bureaucratic post, Johnson chartered The Conservation Foundation.

He believed this private group could partner with public entities to further environmental, conservation and preservation causes. Through the efforts of Johnson and two local land barons, Brooks McCormick and Paul Butler, the foundation remains one of the most influential environmental agencies in the state.

"I worked with them and shared my vision," Johnson said. "And I listened to what they had to say while we discussed the availability of their property."

McCormick and Butler would go on to donate large chunks of farm land to the forest preserve.

"Getting Brooks McCormick and Paul Butler involved was a stroke of genius," said Jean Mooring, who helped develop the Prairie Path. "Those people had so much influence."

In 1989, he received an award from the National Park Foundation as the nation's top local park administrator.

When he retired a few years later, he wryly stated, "I wouldn't say it, but in reality I think I invented the forest preserve district."

Hearing trees

A case of the mumps as a 10-year-old was the catalyst for a young Howard Charles Johnson's interest in forestry.

"I was home sick from school and by chance was listening to a radio station with the head of the Iowa State University forestry division talking about the school's program," he recalled. "It just appealed to me."

After a three-year stint in the Navy, where he served as a weatherman in the Naval Air Force in the years just after World War II, Johnson went to Ames to study in the forestry program he heard about in his youth.

In the summers, he would intern out West with the forest service, fighting forest fires in Oregon and Idaho.

"Fighting fires was so dramatic and awe-inspiring," he said. "I saw some pretty big fires. These days they get a lot more air support, but the guys on the ground still have to do a lot."

Once out of college, Johnson went to work at a Chicago-based lumber company that kept him in the Western states, but eventually the company called him back to Chicago.

He married his college girlfriend and promised to move her to Colorado, where they live now.

"It only took 38 years," Bev Johnson teased.

The desk job in Chicago didn't suit Johnson, so he applied for the forester's job in Downers Grove in 1957 and was hired shortly after.

It was the five years working for that municipality that taught Johnson to wade through the political and bureaucratic waters he would have to navigate on a larger scale when he took the forest preserve job in 1962.

Selling his dream

"He was just masterful at getting things through the political process," said Brook McDonald, a former employee of Johnson's at the forest preserve and current president of The Conservation Foundation.

"Chuck was good at picking and choosing his battles, and also knowing when to wait."

The DuPage County Forest Preserve District was not created overnight. And by almost every account, it was through Johnson's stubbornness and fortitude that he was able to sell his master plan to the county board.

That's not just one county board, that's 32 years of county boards.

"Think about how many county board members he had to deal with," Schillerstrom said. "The guy was a master at getting things done and he knew how to work a board to get it done."

Johnson entered the job with little to no political credentials but became savvy quickly. By thinking long-term, he was able to get projects accomplished in order of importance.

"He had a way of making them believe his ideas were their own," McDonald said.

One of his greatest coups might have been getting a policy that names forest preserve properties after natural landmarks of the property.

"County board members wanted their names on things," McDonald said. "That's an example of the kind of skill he had with politicians. He got the same board to pass a policy that forest preserve property couldn't be named for the people who wanted their name on it."

Johnson said his political philosophy was simple.

"I tried to give my best possible advice," he said. "Sometimes the advice isn't too palatable, but you have to stick to it and stand behind your principles."