Currently Conserved and Protected Sites in Illinois

Many individuals, agencies and organizations work to protect and conserve natural communities in Illinois. These forests, prairies and wetlands protect biodiversity, maintain healthy ecosystems and store carbon while offering space for people to experience nature.

However, only a small area of Illinois’ nature is protected or conserved. Protected land has the highest level of legal protection, with strict limits on activities that can be harmful to nature; 4.2% of Illinois’ land and water is protected. On conservation land, some natural resources are used, but within limits that are intended to maintain healthy ecosystems. In Illinois, the total area of land and water is either conserved or protected is 5.7%.

Areas that are currently conserved or protected

Map – This map shows the land in Illinois that is conserved or protected. Protected land includes the lands that are under protection by public sectors, private sectors, municipalities, or the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC). Conserved land includes the lands within Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Forest Certification Plan, IDNR Ag Lease, or Wetland Mitigation Sites. Click on any county to see detailed acreage and sequestration data .

State-wide Totals of Conserved and Protected and Lands

Protected land is typically land where nature is protected from use; conserved land is typically land where natural resources are used by people, within limits. In our analysis, protected land includes the lands that are under protection by public sectors, private sectors, municipalities, or the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC). Conserved land includes the lands within Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Forest Certification Plan, IDNR Ag Lease, or Wetland Mitigation Sites.

Protected Land

		Sequestration
	Acres	metric tonnes C/yr	mtCO2e/yr
Private Sector	85,300	26,000	95,300
Public Sector	1,340,000	556,000	2,040,000
Municipalities	112,000	34,400	126,000
INPC	117,000	57,100	209,000
TOTAL for these programs*	1,490,000	618,000	2,270,000

Conserved Land

		Sequestration
	Acres	metric tonnes C/yr	mtCO2e/yr
Forest Certification Program	542,000	339,000	1,200,000
CREP	90,500	35,400	130,000
IDNR Ag Land	34,200	4,100	15,000
IDOT Wetland Mitigation Sites	4,700	1,540	5,650
TOTAL for these programs	671,000	381,000	1,400,000

Sites protected and conserved by IDNR

What If IDNR Ag Lease Land Were Returned to Its Historic Land Cover?

IDNR owns and manages many acres of forest, prairie and wetland throughout the state. IDNR also owns some agricultural land that is leased for agricultural production. If these lands were restored to their historic land cover, conservation and carbon sequestration benefits could be realized.

The table below shows the acreage for various land cover types and the corresponding amounts of carbon sequestration that would result from converting non-developed ag lease land to the land cover that it had in the 1800s. With the exception of the small amount of developed land which would not be converted, these numbers represent increases in the amount of protected land in Illinois.

Potential increases in protected acreage and associated carbon sequestration on IDNR ag lease land

		Sequestration
Land Cover Type	Acres	metric tonnes C/yr	mtCO2e/yr
Water	1,770	0	0
Barren	246	0	0
Development	78.7	0	0
Forest	23,600	14,800	54,300
Grass	7,490	1,240	4,550
Herbaceous Wetland	300	161	590
Woody Wetland	601	376	1,380
Total	34,000	16,500	60,500

Restoring ag-lease land to its historic landcover could sequester 16,500 tons of carbon per year. This represents a quadrupling of the current estimated amount of 4,100 tons of carbon per year.

What is the impact of IDNR programs for conservation on private land?

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program provides conservation funding to private landowners who voluntarily take agricultural land in floodplains out of agricultural production. Participation in the program varies throughout the state, as seen in the maps below.

CREP acreage by county

The above map shows the amount of land in acres that is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) for each county in Illinois. Hover or click on any county to see details about CREP enrollment.

Forest Certification Plan

The Illinois Forest Certification Plan allows private landowners who certify that they have conservation management plans for their forests can obtain a tax benefit. Participation in the program varies throughout the state, as seen in the maps below.

Based on our analysis of current forest landcover throughout the state, along with participation in the program, we have identified counties that have a high ratio of certified forest compared to the total forested area of the county. The counties shown in tan have less than 20% of unprotected forests enrolled in the Forest Certification Plans, while counties shown in darker blue have high proportions of unprotected land enrolled in the forest certification program. Because the data is aggregated at the county-level, our analysis cannot give further insight into the type of forest or landowner who participates in the program.

The above maps show certified forests, protected forests, and the combination of both certified and protected forests by county both as acreages and as ratios of total forest. Hover or click on any county to see details about forest plan enrollment.