October 2021
Creating a conservation plan for the Illinois portion of the Raccoon Creek Watershed is an important first step in protecting and conserving high quality land and habitat, and improving water quality in this cool water, relatively high quality stream. Clean water and land conservation also have positive impacts on the local economy, property values, and recreational opportunities. Moreover, it preserves the local heritage for future generations. Natural Land Institute (NLI) chose this priority area for protection because of the Nygren Wetland Preserve, which sits at the bottom of the watershed, and the threats facing this area. Learn about the goals and strategies, and where the climate-resilient areas are located.
Kerry Leigh has worked in restoration ecology for much of her career and has an MA in Landscape Architecture. Her passion is protecting and restoring the natural communities of northern Illinois including working with rare and globally impaired ecosystems. She has also worked regionally doing watershed planning, facility planning area and wastewater treatment reviews for the IEPA, and Great Lakes restoration work with other regional planning agencies and local governments. Kerry became the Executive Director at NLI in 2013. She has served as a Vital Lands Illinois network architect for that statewide collaboration and is now on the board of the Prairie State Conservation Coalition and was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to the IDNR Advisory Board.
Kerry is passionately committed to creative and enhanced partnerships and collaborative work approaches for impactful land protection for healthy soil, water, and air, and for effective stewardship. She has seen amazing results from those collaborations. Kerry grew up in DeKalb in her early years and has lived in over 30 residences, seven countries, and two US states. Kerry attended six different high schools in four years and completed all her higher education in Great Britain where she raised her family for many years before returning to Illinois in 1990.