Friends of the Forest Preserves Email Format
Environmental ServicesIllinois, United States51-200 Employees
Friends of the Forest Preserves is an environmental organization based in Chicago that focuses on protecting Cook County's nearly 70,000 acres of forest preserves. It pursues its mission through advocacy aimed at Forest Preserve District policy and budgets, along with ecological restoration projects funded in part by government and foundations. The group coordinates large-scale restoration by contracting specialists to remove invasive species, restore hydrology, and conduct controlled burns, and it also organizes volunteer workdays year-round. Its Conservation Corps program engages high school students and young adults—often from south and west Chicago neighborhoods—and provides paid restoration work while developing leadership and career awareness. The organization serves local residents and communities who benefit from restored natural areas and advocates for accountable governance of the forest preserves, including support for an independent board of forest preserve commissioners.