An unprecedented partnership bringing more than 130 organizations together for one cause was at the core of IAPD and IPRA's successful effort to keep the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) fund in the state budget this year.

The Partners for Parks and Wildlife was formed in February shortly after Governor Blagojevich's budget address in which he proposed cutting funds for OSLAD and the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (NAAF). The founding members of the coalition included IAPD, the Illinois Environmental Coalition, the Nature Conservancy and several others. The thought was to enlist support from other organizations that stood to lose if OSLAD and NAAF were eliminated.

What started as a nucleus of about a dozen members stood at more than 130 when budget negotiations heated up in April.

These organizations were then folded into an umbrella group, the Partners for Parks and Wildlife.

"There was definitely power in numbers," said Ted Flickinger, president and CEO of the IAPD. "PPW was a first. It was a strong and powerful voice on behalf of parks, conservation and the environment, and very influential in reinstating OSLAD and NAAF."

As groups came on board to assist in the legislative and public message campaigns to save OSLAD, PPW's focus broadened.

Outdoorsmen and sportsmen's groups were soon added.

The Illinois Federation for Outdoor Resources, or IFOR, is an Illinois sportsmen's group based in Godfrey. "The Partners for Parks and Wildlife efforts clearly show that issues involving the acquisition and maintenance of our natural resources is a common goal among all conservation groups," said Jack Ward, executive director of IFOR.

The IAPD led efforts to gain editorial support from Illinois newspapers by scheduling editorial board meetings throughout the state. IAPD member agencies were present at the meetings to talk about how OSLAD has made an impact locally. Individual OSLAD "success stories" were developed and sent to members of the media and the General Assembly. These stories spoke to specific park projects in a community. The stories included pictures, project costs and impact on the community. They represented tangible evidence of OSLAD's impact locally. And the statewide numbers speak for themselves.

Over the course of the OSLAD program, more than 8,600 acres of land have been acquired. Most of that property has been

The e-mail component was key in getting our message out. OSLAD and NAAF were most definitely on the radar with many legislators and most certainly with the media.

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acquired in the six-county Chicago area. Since the inception of the program in 1986, nearly $197 million has been awarded in grants to park districts, municipal park departments, forest preserve and conservation districts.

Shortly after being organized, PPW launched a website and used it to communicate effectively with its members, the general public and the media. This site was linked to an already active IAPD website, which contained position papers, media fact sheets, OSLAD success stories and other marketing tools. The PPW site was informative about the issues and featured an interactive component that made it easy for visitors to e-mail their legislators and the governor. As a result, more than 4,000 electronic communications reached Illinois lawmakers over the course of the campaign.

"The e-mail component was key in getting our message out," said Dave Kelm, Partners for Parks and Wildlife coordinator. "OSLAD and NAAF were most definitely on the radar with many legislators and most certainly with the media."

As the word got out through PPW coalition members, the numbers of organizations in support of OSLAD and NAAF grew. What started as a nucleus of about a dozen members stood at more than 130 when budget negotiations heated up in April. And each of those organizations represented a link to many more members.

On April 22, during Parks Day at the Capitol, IAPD and the Partners for Parks and Wildlife held a joint press conference in the State Capitol Blue Room to declare the importance of preserving OSLAD and NAAF funding. A bipartisan rally in the Capitol Rotunda featured no fewer than 20 legislators stepping up to the podium to reinforce the message that open space acquisition and the preservation of our state's natural areas was vital. A press conference held earlier in the day by the Republican Senate Caucus carried the same message. Television and radio news organizations and newspapers from across the state carried both press conferences.

A key component of Parks Day at the Capitol included a poster featuring OSLAD-supportive headlines gleaned from newspapers throughout the state. IAPD members distributed a poster to each member of the General Assembly. Later, legislators cited the posters as a very persuasive communication tool.

In May, IAPD and PPW released the economic impact figures for OSLAD, which presented an even more compelling reason to support continued funding. Since 1986, the OSLAD program has generated approximately $410 million of capital spending in Illinois' parks, forest preserves, conservation and natural areas. These park improvements spurred approximately $225 million worth of construction and union labor jobs, while infusing an additional $184.5 million into the economy for the purchase of raw materials for park development.

The message of open space acquisition and park development resonated with media in the Chicago and St. Louis areas. And the message that land and natural areas preservation was vital for sportsmen rang true with media in the central and southern portions of the state. The Partners for Parks and Wildlife was a partnership that was making its voice heard.

After a long budget session, OSLAD and NAAF were reinstated in the budget. Members of both parties praised the collaborative efforts of the Partners for Parks and Wildlife and the IAPD, specifically mentioning the public messaging campaign.

"The parks people really took the high road in their messaging," said Julie Curry, the governor's deputy chief of staff for economy, public safety & environment. "We definitely noticed that."

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