4-16-12 Green Drinks Valparaiso: Abby Corso from the Delta Institute is our featured speaker. Abby is the Senior Director, Sustainability Services at the Delta Institute. Since 2008, The Delta Institute has facilitated a Transportation and Environmental Collaboration Initiative in Northwest Indiana (working with local partners Shirley Heinz Land Trust and Save the Dunes). Through the Chicago Wilderness Sustainability team and working with local partners, Delta has developed local stakeholder groups, hosted a series of educational workshops, developed consensus-driven natural resource prioritization maps, and developed and implemented an outreach plan grounded in the work of those local stakeholder groups. The result of this project is a series of maps identifying high priority environmental areas that should be considered as part of any planning activity.

1. Since 2008, The Delta Institute has facilitated a Transportation and Environmental
Collaboration Initiative in McHenry County, IL (working with local partners McHenry County
Defenders and The Land Conservancy of McHenry County) and in Northwest Indiana
(working with local partners Shirley Heinz Land Trust and Save the Dunes). The primary goal
of the Initiative is to strengthen relationships between environmentalists and transportation
professionals to ensure a balanced and informed dialogue between both groups. Through
the Chicago Wilderness Sustainability team and working with local partners, Delta has
developed local stakeholder groups, hosted a series of educational workshops, developed
consensus-driven natural resource prioritization maps, and developed and implemented an
outreach plan grounded in the work of those local stakeholder groups.

2. NORTHWEST INDIANA
PRIORITY RESOURCE
OUTREACH MEETING
April 16, 2012

3. Overview - History
 Started in Chicago Wilderness Sustainability
Team
 Focus on preparing unified map that shows
collective agreement on natural resource
priorities in managing future road projects.
 Northwest Indiana selected to focus on future
growth
 Worked with local partners

4. Project Mission
 Work with Chicago Wilderness partners in the
region to improve understanding and
consideration of sensitive natural resources
(and the Green Infrastructure Vision) in
planning and design for significant surface
transportation projects
 Facilitate understanding and agreement on
resource protection priorities and conduct
education on transportation funding and
project development process with local
environmental stakeholders

5. Project Goals
 Educate transportation professionals
about environmental resources
 Educate local environmental stakeholders
on the transportation funding & project
development process
 Develop tools to facilitate early
engagement between environmentalists
and transportation planners

6. Feedback from Transportation
Planners
 Environmental experts have been key in
identifying critical resource protection areas and
coming up with alternatives.
 Environmental groups are not unified (don’t
know what they want or don’t agree on what
they want).
 Environmental groups are one of a number of
stakeholder groups and don’t always do a good
job of reaching out to other stakeholders
 Environmental agencies and groups are not
always on the same page

7. Project Background & Timeline
 Developed out of Chicago Wilderness Sustainability
team
 July 2008 - Workshop with 60 attendees
 Transportation professionals
 Environmental Resource Agencies
 Local environmental stakeholders
 2009 Work Plan
 Developed from stakeholder feedback and implemented
project in McHenry County
 Conducted 4 workshops and meetings
 Identified additional partners

8. Timeline (con’t)
 2010 Work Plan
 Engaged local partners
 McHenry County, IL: Defenders and Land Conservancy
 Northwest Indiana: Shirley Heinze
 Set priorities for conservation and protection
 Developed criteria with stakeholder group
 Host educational workshops
 2011 Work Plan
 Continue engagement with local partners
 Added local partner Save the Dunes in Northwest Indiana
 Refine priorities and develop outreach strategy
 Host relevant educational webinars for region

9. Overview - Leaders
 Shirley Heinze Land Trust
 Save the Dunes
 Chicago State University (GIS consultant)
 Delta Institute (Facilitators)

10. Local Partners

11. Stakeholder Participants
 Calumet Stewardship  NIRPC
Initiative
 Chicago Wilderness Trust  Southeast Environmental
Board Task Force
 Department of Natural  The Nature Conservancy
Resources, Division of Southern Lake Michigan
Nature Preserves Rim Project
 Illinois-Indiana SeaGrant
Purdue  US Fish and Wildlife
 Indiana Lake Michigan Service
Coastal Program  Wildlife Habitat Council
 La Porte County  Woodland Savanna Land
Conservation Trust
Conservancy
 Lake County Fish and
Game  Chicago State University
 LaPorte County Parks  Field Museum

12. PRIORITY RESOURCE
MAPS
Focus Areas

13. Map Components
 Map
 Legend
 Project background
 Caveats
 Data Gaps
 Other Local Resource Information
 Best Practices for ALL areas of concern
regardless of priority ranking
 Need for GIS training and map updates.

14. GIS Ranking System
Hydrography – High Priority 1pt USGS rivers and streams
Hydrography buffer 4pts 100-foot buffer of rivers and streams
Indiana Managed Lands 2pts Land already in protection status
Indiana Managed Lands Buffer 5pts .25mi buffer of Indiana protected land
IDNR Trails 2pts If not contained in Indiana Managed Lands layer
Conservation Easements 2pts Parcels of land protected from development
Floodplains (FEMA and Lake County, IN) 3pts Areas prone to flooding, as designated by
FEMA
ADID (Advanced ID of Disposal) 5pts Wetlands not suitable for disposal
National Wetland Inventory 3pts US Fish & Wildlife Service-mapped wetlands
National Wetland Inventory buffer 3pts Half-mile buffer of national wetland inventory
NIRPC Greenways and Blueways 3pts Corridors of open space developed by NIRPC
Threatened and Endangered Species 5pts IDNR Natural Heritage data
Heritage Plants 5pts IDNR native plants map
IBI (Indiana Biodiversity Initiative) 5pts Coastal & Estuarine Lands Conservation
Hydric Soils 1pt NRCS hydric soils data
Classified Forests and Wildlands 4pts Private lands in IDNR classified forest and wetland
program
2006 Land Cover non-agricultural 3pts Lands classified as non-agricultural
IDNR Salmonid Streams 1pt Streams capable of supporting salmonid species
CCAP Forest Fragmentation 5pts Coastal Change Analysis Program
Total 60pts

15. Maps - Overview

16. Future Transportation Projects

23. RESOURCES

24. Resources
 Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure
Vision & related resources
 Dept of Interior Road Guidelines
 NIRPC Blueways and Greenways Plan
 Shirley Heinze Land Trust Uplands
Inventory
 Nature Conservancy Protected Areas
 Other Resources

25. Upcoming Webinar Series
Transportation Planning & Environmental
Collaboration
Spring Webinar Series
April 18th, May 16th, June 20th
A four-part webinar series to examine the ways in which transportation
professionals and environmentalists can work together to conserve natural
resources while meeting today's growing transportation needs.
List of Events and Dates
 State-Level Transportation Planning and Toolkits for IL and IN - April 18th
 Green Infrastructure Vision2.0 Preview - May 16th
 Local Project Showcase: McHenry County and Northwest Indiana - June 20th
 Federal Transportation Perspectives and Tools - Date TBD