Midwest Region

This page provides a list of green infrastructure related projects in the Midwest. Click on the links below to learn more about each of these projects. If you are familiar with a project in this region that is not listed here, please suggest a profile, including a website or contact person in the body of the e-mail message.

Chicago Wilderness

Chicago Wilderness is a regional nature reserve that includes more than 200,000 acres of protected natural lands. It stretches from southeastern Wisconsin, through northeastern Illinois and into northwestern Indiana.  Read more>

Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) WildLink

Conservation Resource Alliance’s Wild Link and River Care Programs, Northwest Lower Michigan Case Study.  Read more>

Cuyahoga County, OH

The Cuyahoga County Greenprint is a vision for Cuyahoga County which serves as an organizing framework for our county, linking communities to each other and to our environment. It builds off previous park and environmental planning efforts and identifies new opportunities for open space protection and the creation of connections.   Read more>

Green Mapping (WI, IL, IN)

In March, 2004, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and Openlands Project (Openlands), two Chicago-based civic organizations, completed the creation of a geospatial database green infrastructure resources in a 14-county region of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.   Read more>

Green Topeka, KS

Green Topeka views stormwater projects holistically and is using the experience to develop a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address stormwater concerns and to increase green infrastructure throughout the community.   Read more>

Kansas City Metro Area

MetroGreen® is a proposed 1,144-mile interconnected system of public and private open spaces, greenways and trails designed to link seven counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Read more>

Metro Greenways, MN

The Metro Greenways program was launched in 1998 in response to Metro Greenprint, a citizens report that called for stronger efforts to protect nature in the face of urban growth. Since then the program has been working successfully with communities across the region to preserve and restore our vital natural heritage while we still can.  Read more>

Milwaukee Conservation Plan

Watercourse studies for three metropolitan Milwaukee rivers indicate that projected demographic trends will intensify existing flood problems. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is implementing an innovative program called the Conservation Plan to combat this problem. The Plan will complement traditional storm water management techniques. The Conservation Plan identifies undeveloped private properties, potentially at risk for development, which could provide future flood prevention benefits.   Read more>

Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative

The Saginaw Bay Greenways Collaborative aims to establish the framework by which a 22-county greenway vision can be both formulated, and implemented, in the Saginaw Bay Watershed.   Read more>

Western Michigan

Adding 500 miles of new connector trails and greenways, targeting 18,000 acres for preservation, and encouraging "green roofs" and rain gardens in building codes are among the recommendations of the Green Infrastructure Task Force, a group of 30 local leaders and experts convened by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance.   Read more>
Join the Community of Practice

North Carolina Conservation Based Affordable Housing

 

The Green Infrastructure Community of Practice is a collaborative network of organizations and agencies that are actively involved in the strategic green infrastructure approach to conservation and environmental protection or restoration. Learn more>

Spotlight
Green Infrastructure book cover
Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities by Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon is an illustrative review of advances in smart land conservation and large scale thinking that provides a green solution to many of the problems associated with sprawling development.
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The Conservation Fund's pledge to donors:

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