Private interests can help protect wildlife

Thank you for the editorial "Give bees, turtles and butterflies a helping hand."

Those three species in peril have received a lot of deserved attention lately in our area. As the article says, these species literally live in our back yards, and there are many things Lake County residents can do to help them, and a whole host of other species that depend on the same types of habitats.

Lake County is the most ecologically diverse county in Illinois and home to several threatened and endangered species. Positioned just outside of a world-class city on the shore of one of the planet's largest freshwater lakes, and at the merger of the tallgrass prairie and eastern deciduous forest, Lake County is rich in community and natural resources.

The 30,000 acres of county forest preserves, as grand and beautiful as they are, are neither big enough nor connected enough for all of the natural systems to work at their optimal level for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Attainable steps can be taken on privately held properties such as individual yards and homeowner associations to not only help reconnect the natural systems, but to reconnect people with nature. Conserve Lake County is here to facilitate that.

Conserve Lake County is a 20-year-old 501(c)3 nonprofit that works throughout the county to foster healthy land for better lives. Through the award-winning Conservation Home program, it assists people countywide in implementing conservation-friendly actions. Conserve Lake County also leads and assists with landscape-scale planning efforts.

Dave Neu, Executive Director

Conserve Lake County

Grayslake