• Schoolyard Habitat Action Program. It helps conduct conservation and educational programs for students from kindergarten through high school. For example, nature centers, schools and youth groups have planted prairie plots, created wetlands, established butterfly gardens, built bird-nesting boxes, and developed outdoor labs for monitoring plants and wildlife. To date, the ICF has raised more than $100,000 for this program.

• Under Illinois Skies: A Camping Experience for Youth. This program is designed to give city kids the rare opportunity to enjoy a camping experience at a state park; teaching them how to appreciate the outdoors. The ICF has raised over $15,000 for this program.

• Youth Recreation. The ICF helps fund angling, hunting, and other outdoor recreation programs for young people. So far, more than $225,000 has been donated to the ICF for this program.

• Lake Michigan Artificial Reef. The first artificial reef in Lake Michigan. Planning for the project took more than three years and involved representatives from private industry and local, state, and federal governmental agencies. The artifcial reef's intended purpose is to enhance fish habitat. Click here to view the reef's specifications.

• Illinois Sportsmen Against Hunger. Annually, this effort raises money to help hunters donate wild game to charities, churches, and food pantries for distribution to families in need. The ICF has raised $80,000 for this program.

• Reforestation. A continuing program is supporting the joint effort by the IDNR and Illinois corporations to produce seedlings and plant millions of trees, as well as supplying funds to purchase the necessary equipment to do so. Thanks to ICF support, nearly $2 million has been donated toward this effort.

• Wildlife Restoration. The ICF is among the many organizations that were involved in building the state's first artificial reef in Lake Michigan. The reef, intended to provide habitat for smallmouth bass and other near-shore species, is the subject of a continuing study by biologists. Other ICF restoration efforts include: helping to restore the 162-acre Turner Lake Wetland at the Chain O'Lakes State Park; enhancing habitats for the endangered Illinois mud turtle and Indiana bat; and reintroducing the river otter into Illinois waterways. For these projects, the ICF has contributed more than $160,000.

• Land Acquisition. Land is extremely scarce and nearly all of Illinois land is in the hands of private owners. Whenever possible, the ICF raises funds to buy private land for public use. It also offers a "life estate" program in which someone can donate their property, but retain the right to use it until their death. More than $1,000,000 has been donated for land acquisition.

• Equipment Purchases. When there's a need, the ICF tries to supply the means. For example, it purchased equipment and facilities for the Conservation Police Search and Rescue Squad at Starved Rock State Park. It also has provided police and all-terrain vehicles and tree-planting machinery. Nearly $50,000 has been donated to the ICF for such purposes.

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