2026-2030 Strategic Plan: Letter from the Board Chair & Strategic Planning Committee Chair

Our region is where a global city meets one of the planet’s most vital sources of fresh water and some of its rarest and most important ecosystems and prime agricultural soils. Here, beneath the intensity of metropolitan life, people remain deeply connected to nature. Our cities shape the land and water, and in turn, the health of our natural environment shapes the well-being of our communities.

Openlands was founded on this understanding. As one of the oldest urban conservation organizations in the country, we have always focused on creating a region where everyone can live well — with clean water, fresh air, and nearby access to nature. In a region like ours, where the built and natural environments sit side by side, people and nature must be considered together. People often serve as the voices for the land, speaking up for its right to exist and thrive.

Over the past six decades, Openlands has been a steady force through changing times and shifting priorities at every level of government. Our strength comes from adaptability and collaboration — working alongside civic leaders, communities, and partners to solve complex challenges. This drive to innovate has led to many national firsts. We helped establish the nation’s first National Heritage Area: the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. This groundbreaking model has since inspired 62 similar areas across the country. We also incubated impactful organizations like Alliance for the Great Lakes and Friends of the Chicago River. Openlands championed the first municipal protections for the iconic Chicago lakefront and led the formal protection of the country’s first National Tallgrass Prairie. What begins at Openlands often sparks ripple effects that influence conservation across the region and the nation.