Section 1523.30  Ecosystem Partnership Designation

a)         A coalition of individuals, groups and/or organizations interested in being designated as an Ecosystem Partnership may request designation by writing the Director and providing:

1)         Their organizing principles, mission statement, constitution, charter, statement of purpose and goals.

2)         A map of the boundaries of the proposed Ecosystem Partnership.

3)         The signature of each initial member in the proposed Ecosystem Partnership must be included in the Ecosystem Partnership letter of request to the Director.  Included in the list should be each member's address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and affiliation, and a description of the interests the member represents.

4)         From the list of initial members, a list of proposed temporary board members in the proposed Ecosystem Partnership.

5)         A description of the Ecosystem Partnership Area's natural resources, and the condition and significance of those resources.

6)         Letters of support from businesses, organizations, etc., within the Ecosystem Partnership Area.

b)         The Director shall grant or deny designation as an Ecosystem Partnership in writing within 90 days after the receipt of the request.  The Director shall consider the following criteria in reaching that decision:

1)         The relationship between the mission or purpose of the proposed Ecosystem Partnership and the mission and policies of the Department and Conservation 2000.

2)         The natural resource significance of the ecosystems or watersheds proposed for inclusion in the proposed Partnership Area.

3)         The representation of diverse interests associated with the proposed Ecosystem Partnership.

4)         The coalition's potential ability to achieve its stated goal.

5)         Technical and financial resources available for program expansion.

6)         Other potential local support for the proposed Ecosystem Partnership.

c)         The letter of designation from the Director shall be the official notification to the prospective Ecosystem Partnership that it has met the requirements in subsections (a) and (b) and has received Ecosystem Partnership designation.  Maintenance of this designation is contingent on the fulfillment of the criteria contained in Section 1523.50.

d)         The initial list of LPC temporary board members submitted to the Director and approved in the Director's letter of designation for the Ecosystem Partnership shall serve for a period not to exceed 9 months from the designation date.  No official business can be conducted by the temporary board members until they organize and elect a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer. These LPC officers and the temporary board members shall then prepare and adopt bylaws that meet the criteria set forth in Section 1523.40, at a meeting open to the public, and perform other duties as may be required for the Ecosystem Partnership to become established and to operate.  Procedures to record the minutes of all meetings held throughout this process must be in place and a copy of those minutes must be provided to the designated Ecosystem Administrator and the Conservation 2000 Administrator, and shall be made available to members of the public.

(Source:  Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 1144, effective January 9, 2003)