Grove Restoration Project

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Relationship of Stewardship and the GRP

The following is a brief introduction to Stewardship within the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and includes other general information frequently asked about when joining the Grove Restoration Project. You don’t necessarily need to concern yourself with the information below if you wish to become a volunteer for the GRP.

All of the information was extracted from the training manual provided by the District and is presented here as a reference point as to what a Steward does when you hear the terminology being passed around during any of our restoration events. It will also become important when you wish to elevate your volunteering efforts to a whole new level. This list of information is by no means complete and is a work in progress.

The Legacy of Stewardship

The Stewards who are volunteer staff of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County join a legacy of forest preserve volunteers who give service to the preserves in many ways. The Forest Preserve District was founded more than 90 years ago. It is the first and largest urban natural areas system in the nation and has grown to over 68,000 acres which accounts for 11 percent of the land area of the county.

Visionary citizen volunteers helped establish the Forest Preserve in 1915 for the purpose of protecting and preserving the flora and fauna, and scenic beauties of the District for the education, pleasure and recreation of the public. It is an innovative concept that protects rare woodland, wetland, savanna, and prairie habitat for us and generations to come.

Challenges to Natural Areas

The most pressing need facing natural areas in 1915 was to preserve them from development and the ever increasing expansion of the Chicago metropolitan area. Prevailing thought at the time was that once the land was protected, nature would take care of itself with no help needed from the people. Unfortunately, this proved to not be the case. Lands left alone started to degrade in health. As settlement occurred around Chicago the original natural processes such as fire were halted and natural water cycles were drastically altered. These changes had a profound impact on prairie, woodland, savanna and wetland species that had evolved and were dependant upon these processes. In addition, people sometimes intentionally and often unintentionally introduced new species from other continents to the land, which directly competed with existing ecological communities for resources. Today land managers understand that preserving the biological diversity and ecological health of natural lands will only occur under active management.

Fortunately, both citizens and biologists took note of the changes occurring on our natural lands. It was realized that removing invasive species, performing prescribed burns and restoring the natural hydrology were necessary for the long-term survival of ecosystems.

Role of Stewards

Volunteer stewards have been actively helping to maintain the health of our ecosystems for the past 30 years. Currently, volunteers are working on over 70 land management sites throughout the District, assisting staff with the control of invasive species, scientific monitoring, trash collection, seed collection and dispersal, and prescribed burns. On any given weekend one will find at least a dozen scheduled volunteer workdays occurring throughout the county. Additionally, large groups come out for special events that are centered on nationally recognized days such as Earth Day, National Public Lands day, and National Trails day, among others.

The Forest Preserve District sponsors volunteer work and certifies volunteer stewards to work in its natural areas. Coming from all walks of life, volunteers ensure that the District’s ecosystems remain a healthy legacy for generations to come. Volunteers use best management training based on widely adopted practices to perform their activities. Stewards and volunteers also play a critical role in informing their community about the importance of ecological management and the forest preserves. They also act as the eyes and ears for the District on what is happening at a local level in the forest preserves. Their experiences with both successes and failures can be used for region-wide decision making regarding the management of the forest preserves.

Volunteering in the forest preserves can have a lasting benefit in ones life. Volunteers can reconnect to natural lands in an urban setting and feel connected to others who care about natural lands and the plants and animals that depend upon them all while enjoying nature.

General Qualifications and Responsibilities

Site and Master Stewards work directly with Volunteer Resources Staff. The Volunteer Resources Manager and his/her staff are the steward’s primary contact(s) for communicating with the District. It is Volunteer Resource’s responsibility to communicate information regarding Ecological Management Plans, scope of activities, and workdays to other District departments and staff.

Ecological Management Volunteers in the FPDCC are arranged into regional stewardship groups for purposes of organization, local focus and community involvement. Such regional stewardship groups are semi-autonomous since they follow District policies and guidelines but are organized in an individual manner according to the desire of each group.

Site Stewards are chosen by an established regional stewardship group as the leader for a specific site. Site Stewards are responsible for developing Site Management Plans in collaboration with Volunteer Resources and other appropriate District staff as well as coordinating and leading volunteer activities at their site.

Certain ecological management activities are restricted under the Land Management Guidelines to occur only with supervision of District staff or a volunteer Master Steward. Thus, a Site Steward may not permit volunteers under his/her leadership to cut brush, use herbicide or burn brush piles unless District staff or a Master Steward is on site; or the Site Steward is himself/herself a Master Steward.

Master Stewards are accredited by Volunteer Resources before they can conduct ecological management activities on District lands. Once accredited, Master Stewards can supervise any FPDCC volunteer at any forest preserve site without the presence of District staff. However, Master Stewards must coordinate with Volunteer Resources and work in partnership with Site Stewards, adhere to the management plans for that particular site and must have the agreement of that site’s Site Steward prior to conducting workdays.

Responsibility of Stewards

Site and Master Stewards must ensure volunteer activities are performed safely and are carried out in accordance with the Land Management Guidelines. All work performed by volunteers must be described in the Annual Ecological Management Plan for the site.

Volunteers are essentially Forest Preserve District of Cook County unpaid staff. Stewards represent the District to the public during workdays and when conducting ecological management activities at their site.

Job Descriptions and Roles

Regional Stewards are Master Stewards who act as the regional coordinator for all sites under ecological management in a geographic region. They play a key role in recruiting new stewards and act as a liaison with District staff for the larger regional group. In addition, Regional Stewards often work with outside experts and give regional focus to ecological management strategies and plans.

Site Stewards serve as the site leader for an ecologically managed site and coordinate all stewardship related volunteer activities at the site. They are also responsible for developing the sites’ Annual Ecological Management Plan and Long-Term Plan. In addition, they coordinate any volunteer monitoring of the site’s plant or animal populations and evaluate the progress and effectiveness of ongoing ecological management work over time. Site Stewards are chosen by the Regional Group and must demonstrate good human relations and organizational skills while also having a solid background in best ecological management practices. They are also responsible for submitting workday reports to Volunteer Resources.

Master Stewards are accredited by the District to supervise activities using volunteers that involve herbicide application, removal of trees, brush, or herbaceous species, and the use of fire. However, they cannot perform any of these tasks without the consent and approval of the Site Steward. The activities they supervise must be outlined in the site’s management plan, and they must confer with Volunteer Resources.

Workday Leaders are Master Stewards who have been given permission either by Volunteer Resources or a Site Steward to supervise resource management volunteers at a site for a given workday. The Workday Leader is responsible for supervising all volunteers applying herbicide, cutting brush or burning brush piles during said workdays.

Ecological Management Volunteer Specialists are volunteers that have undergone formal training and certification on specific ecological management activities. They may hold certification and licenses for all or any of the following: prescribed fire burn training, herbicide use, and chainsaw use. Under the supervision of a steward or Volunteer Resources they are given permission to conduct these activities during workdays.

Ecological Management Volunteers are volunteers who may edit the group’s newsletter, collect and process seed, cut brush using loppers or handsaws, conduct nature walks, hand-pull invasive plants, tend brush pile fires, monitor for spot fires at prescribed burns and watch for potential flare ups at controlled burns once the fire has been put out. In case of cutting brush or tending brush pile fires they must be under the direct supervision of a steward or Volunteer Resources to perform these activities.

Interpretation Volunteers are volunteers who use their ecological knowledge and interpretation skills to lead nature walks and other activities that educate the public about the ecology and history of the forest preserve(s).

Plant and Animal Monitoring Volunteers work in partnership with the Site Steward to monitor populations of plant and/or animal species. They have undergone formal training to monitor these species through various programs and agencies. Their data is often considered and utilized for setting priorities and activities for the Site’s Ecological Management Plan(s). Untrained volunteers can assist with this monitoring so long as they are directly supervised by a trained Volunteer Monitor.