“Perhaps nobody before us had seen the need or been able to set aside natural areas. And those that follow will no longer have the chance. They will only be able to care for what we leave
them.”
- George B. Fell
George B. Fell founded the Natural Land Institute in 1958 and served as Executive Director until his death in 1994. George’s dedication to the preservation of natural areas continues to inspire the programs of NLI.
The Natural Land Institute serves as a land trust for Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Its role includes both advocacy for land preservation and land use planning and direct action to preserve areas by acquisition, either on its own or in conjunction with other organizations and agencies.
The Institute accepts donations of properties, buys land, manages natural areas, and helps landowners establish legal agreements that permanently protect their land. NLI has negotiated the acquisition of more than 100 tracts of land totaling over
12,000 acres. A few of these areas include Harlem Hills Nature Preserve, Rockton Nature Preserve, Sugar River tracts, Nachusa Grasslands, Markham Prairie, Franklin Creek State Natural Area, Matthiessen State Park, Briggs Wetland, and the Castle Rock area. NLI
owns and manages 16 tracts of land totaling 1,447.513 acres and holds 27
conservation easements on 1,878.87 acres.
The Natural Land Institute's programs include five main categories:
•
Acquiring and protecting natural areas,
• Managing, protecting, and restoring natural areas and
native species,
• Conducting research and managing information,
• Disseminating information about land and nature conservation,
• Developing sound public policies and plans
NLI Board of Trustees
President, Tyler Smith
Vice President, Judith Barnard
Secretary, Sally Hoff
Treasurer, Jay Evans
Immediate Past
President, Jack Cook
Trustees
Marion Applegate
Wade Bigall
Keith Blackmore
Meg Bushnell
Lisa Carter
Veronica Gayle
Mark Keister
Richard Luthin
Rebecca Olson
Charlie Sturm
Scott Sullivan
Curt Wahlmark
Daniel Williams
Donald Wortmann
Nygren Wetland Science Advisory Committee
Robert Baller
John Bergstrom
Keith Blackmore
Jay Friberg
John Harrington
Lee Johnson
Mark Keister
Tim Keller
Mark Maffei
Richard Newsome
Rick Rudey
Eric Schenck
Tyler Smith
John White
Kathleen Winters
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Ed Johnston
Applied Ecological Services - Steve Apfelbaum
Staff
Jerry Paulson, Executive Director, Paulsonjerry@aol.com
Andy Bacon, Land Stewardship Director,
Andrewdbacon@aol.com
Lucas Bradley, Education Coordinator,
Lucaspbradley@aol.com
Jessica Formea, Natural Resources Intern,
nli@aol.com
Greg Keilback, Land Stewardship Assistant,
nli@aol.com
Jill Kennay, Assistant Director,
Jkennay@aol.com
Rick Lawrence, Mississippi Blufflands Director,
Nlibluff@aeroinc.net
Suzette Merchant, Public Relations Director,
Skmerchant@aol.com
