Partnerships

The U.S. Forest Service actively seeks to build mutually beneficial, cooperative partnerships with agencies, organizations, and individuals who share in its commitment to the conservation and restoration of Midewin's natural resources and to the public's interest in the prairie.

• Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods: At Ease Art and Nature for Veterans programs take place at Midewin each fall, where Veterans and their families paint and photograph the prairie.
• Chicago Botanic Garden: The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society and owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.  Coordinated through CBG, Plants of Concern is a volunteer-based, rare plant monitoring program in which Midewin participates.  Its goal is to ensure, through continued monitoring and feedback to managers, the stability and recovery of populations of the region’s listed and other rare plants.
• Field Museum: The Field Museum manages the Mighty Acorns youth environmental education program run by staff and volunteers at Midewin. Local elementary students visit Midewin three times a year to learn about the prairie and participate in stewardship activities.
• Forest Preserve District of Will County: The FPDWC has partnered with Midewin and been part of its Stakeholders Group for several years and shared many projects. Current projects include fuels reduction on adjacent land along the Wauponsee Glacial Trail and prairie restoration using mycorrhizal fungi.
• Michigan State University: Midewin has partnered with Michigan State University to evaluate prairie restoration in areas grazed by Midewin’s bison herd, with an emphasis on native plant diversity.
• Midewin Heritage Association: The Midewin Heritage Association is a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to understanding and promoting Midewin’s past. MHA currently runs heritage and history related programming for the public at Midewin, including the popular Ghosts of the Ammunition Plant tour.
• Midewin Interpretive Association: The Midewin Interpretive Association (MidIA) manages the Midewin Welcome Center bookstore where a variety of books and other items relating to Midewin, prairie ecosystems, and local geology and history are available for sale. Bookstore funds and donations are used to support educational and interpretive programming at Midewin.
• National Cemetery Administration: Through an Interagency Agreement, Midewin’s fire organization manages hazardous fuels on the adjacent Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
• The National Forest Foundation: The National Forest Foundation is the Congressionally chartered non-profit organization solely dedicated to supporting the Country’s Forests and Grasslands. The NFF is partnering with Midewin to support restoration activities, an assessment of recreational opportunities, and facilitation of Stakeholder Group meetings, to name a few.
• Olivet Nazarene University: ONU students have been conducting native bumblebee surveys in areas of restored prairie at Midewin.
• Openlands: Founded in 1963, Openlands is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing public open space in northeastern Illinois. Openlands was granted a $1.5 million America the Beautiful Challenge Grant in 2023 to expand and restore native grassland bird habitat on Midewin’s East Side.
• Pollinator Partnership: Project Wingspan increases the quality, quantity and connectivity of pollinator habitat across the Midwest and Great Lakes Region through seed harvesting and seed swapping activities at Midewin and other sites.
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Through a Service First Interagency Agreement, the Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office has a Substation located near Midewin’s Supervisor’s Office in Wilmington, IL. Their crews monitor portions of the Illinois River for the spread of invasive carp species.
• University of Missouri: Midewin has partnered with the University of Missouri to evaluate prairie restoration in areas grazed by Midewin’s bison herd, with an emphasis on grassland bird habitat.
• The Wetlands Initiative:  The Wetlands Initiative has partnered with the Forest Service for over 25 years to restore more than 1,800 acres of high-quality wetland and prairie landscapes. Currently, TWI is working on Midewin’s East side removing invasive trees and shrubs through an America the Beautiful Challenge Grant awarded in 2023.
• Will County Emergency Management Agency: Midewin has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement with the Will County EMA for them to conduct important search and rescue training activities at the site.