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Conclusion
This plan identifies significant natural areas within the Lake Michigan basin of Wisconsin which are a priority for conservation due to the resources they represent and the opportunity they provide for land trusts to achieve substantial, lasting conservation success. The Lake Michigan coastal region is under constant, increasing and severe development pressures. Those natural areas still extant in the region are of high priority for protection primarily because they represent the last remaining examples of these types of systems in the region and in the world. By highlighting these areas, bringing together multiple partners to work collaboratively for their protection, and developing site specific conservation strategies, it is hoped that these special places remain as habitat for plants and animals, continue to provide scenic and recreational opportunities for people within the region, and serve to improve the health and quality of regional water resources.
 Landscapes of Opportunity is a guide to some of the most important conservation work to be done in the basin. It is not just a tool for the Lake
Michigan Shorelands Alliance and its partners, but for any agency or organization which is concerned with the conservation of land, water and habitat resources in their communities. This guide reflects the priorities of the people living within the basin, as reflected in the public planning documents used to develop this plan.
The next steps will be to develop site-specific conservation strategies for each of the 18
Priority Conservation Project Areas. These plans will guide the work of the Alliance, and the individual land trust members of the Alliance as they implement on the ground conservation action. In addition, these site plans will be a tool to use in securing funding for that conservation action; they will provide goals, measures of success and a strategic outline of actions that will be implemented.
Read
the Landscapes of Opportunity report Acknowledgements »
Please contact Liz Walsh at liz [at]
gatheringwaters.org or 608-251-9131 x12 with any questions about
Landscapes of Opportunity.
Photo provided
courtesy of Gill Gribb
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