Grants Awarded to Friends of Hackmatack NWR

Nicor Gas:  Interpretive Signs

August, 2025
The Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge has been awarded a $5,000 grant from Nicor Gas Charitable Giving. We will be using this grant money to create two interpretive signs.  One will highlight the features of the pollinator garden that Friends of Hackmatack NWR planted with the help of Small Waters Education, located at McConnell Park in Richmond, IL.  The second sign will highlight the features of the prairie that has been planted on Tamarack Southeast, along the entrance road into Richmond Burton Community High School.  Any extra money after signs have been purchased and installed will go toward purchase of native seed for the refuge.

Nicor Gas:  Richmond Pocket Refuge

July 31, 2024
The Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge has been awarded a $5,000 grant from Nicor Gas Charitable Giving. We will be using this grant money to work with Small Waters Education to create a pollinator garden along the banks of the creek in McConnell Park. McConnell Park is the May Subdivision in Richmond, IL.
“Nicor Gas appreciates the work you do every day to make a positive impact in our communities and looks forward to seeing the outcomes of your efforts.” ~ Nicor Gas Charitable Giving Team

Read more and see the steps involved in creating a successful pollinator garden →

In The News

June 21, 2024
Friends of Hackmatack NWR is featured in this year’s Nicor Gas Activity Report. This report highlights Nicor’s ongoing commitment to the communities served, and outlines the positive changes they have helped foster over the past year.

From advancing sustainability initiatives to supporting local economic growth, the report showcases the impact of collaborative efforts with partners and stakeholders. See more on Facebook.

Five  Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant

February 23, 2024

The Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge has been awarded a $48,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant will be used to restore a 26-acre wetland basin and convert 24 acres of cropland back to prairie with support from Openlands, local conservation agencies, local school groups, and volunteers with Friends of Hackmatack NWR.   
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Full Circle Foundation Grant

February 2, 2024

The Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge has been awarded a grant in the amount of $4,255.00 by the Full Circle Foundation, located in Richmond, IL.      

Frequently, Board members of FOHNWR are asked to provide presentations about the Refuge. This grant money will allow us to purchase display boards featuring the Refuge and a particular theme (monarchs, stewardship activities, or other events) that further promote the Refuge and provide information about how citizens can join FOHNWR to support the Refuge or participate in a particular event.  
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Nicor & The Morton Arboretum

September 12, 2023

The Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been awarded a $10,000 grant under the 2023 Oak Ecosystem Conservation Community Projects grant program to restore a five-acre bur oak savanna, a natural community that has been designated by The Nature Conservancy as critically imperiled globally.  Indeed, a study by the McHenry County Conservation District found that McHenry County has lost 87% of its original oak ecosystems.  Funding for this program is provided by Nicor Gas and the grant is being administered by The Morton Arboretum.  This marks the third ecological restoration grant received by the Friends of Hackmatack from Nicor.   
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Nicor Grant for Farmstead Prairie Restoration

 August, 2023

In August 2023 Friends of Hackmatack NWR was one of 21 groups to receive a $5000 environmental stewardship grant from Nicor Gas. We are using the funds received for restoration work at the Tryon Grove Tract of Hackmatack NWR. This 45.5 acre-site has frontage on both Tryon Grove Road and Keystone Road in Richmond Township, Illinois. We’ve spent much of our time working in an area of approximately 3 acres where an old farmstead with a house and several outbuildings were removed. There we’ve removed invasive brush as well as trash. Recently we began work removing the fence and brushline along Keystone Road.
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Retirees Association

July 17, 2023

Friends of Hackmatack NWR were awarded a Restoration Act Grant in the amount of $843 to support the engagement of underserved youth in a variety of programs, including assisting with our annual event, the Monarch Family Fun Fair.

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Community Project Funding for Illinois’ 14th District

December 23, 2022
Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood has secured $975,000 for the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge/Nippersink Creek Restoration Project.

The funding will be used to restore over 100 acres of wetlands and nearly 8,750 feet of headwater streams. The parcel is located within the Tamarack Core area, designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a priority for protection by the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge. This restoration is critical so that the land can eventually be protected as part of the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge. This project will address soil erosion, improve soil health, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, reduce flood damage, and increase resilience to climate change, as well as provide recreational opportunities for the community.

This project has broad support from the local community, including the McHenry County Conservation District, McHenry-Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District, and McHenry County Department of Planning and Development, as well as local conservation organizations such as Openlands, Chicago Wilderness, McHenry County Conservation Foundation, Fox River Ecosystem Partnership, Nippersink Watershed Association, and Environmental Defenders of McHenry County.
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Nicor Gas Environmental Stewardship Initiative

August, 2022
Our Friends Group was pleased to be one of 11 organizations to receive a $5000 grant from the Nicor Gas Environmental Stewardship Initiative in August 2022. We are using the funds to restore upland savannas within the footprint of a larger 165-acre parcel named Tamarack West where wetlands and headwater streams are to be restored with a federal community funding project. Tamarack West is located in Richmond Township, Illinois. It is bordered on the north by Tryon Grove Road and by the 3400+ acre Glacial Park to the south.
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Illinois Clean Energy Community Challenge Grant

March, 2020
Friends of Hackmatack NWR received a Stewardship Challenge Grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF). By fulfilling a number of requirements by November 1, 2021, Friends of Hackmatack can receive up to $27,000 from the Foundation to spend on land stewardship activities on the Tamarack SouthEast Site. The funds will be used to convert a farm field north of Richmond Burton Community High School into prairie and to plant native woodland plants, shrubs and trees in the oak woodlands. 

If you’d like to learn more about ICECF and their grant programs, please visit their website at illinoiscleanenergy.org.

March 31, 2022 Update
We are pleased to report that we have successfully completed this Stewardship Challenge Grant and have provided our final report to the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF).

Thank you, thank you to our generous donors and our incredible stewardship workday volunteers whose contributions reached our $7000 fundraising target and surpassed our 400 hours of stewardship goal! 

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