Saving Illinois Parks and Wildlife

During his budget address in February 2004, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich stunned state conservation, parks and outdoor sports organizations when he announced a $34 million cut to the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) program and the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (NAAF). The cut eliminated all state grants to aid local government in purchasing and upgrading open space for public parks and it reduced state conservation staff and stewardship programs that protect the state’s most rare natural areas, called nature preserves. And because the rate of residential development, especially in the Chicago metro area is accelerating, these programs had to be saved. The announcement required immediate action to save these programs. With the help of volunteer PR counselors, a new coalition, called Partners for Parks and Wildlife (PPW), formed representing groups with diverse interests: conservationists, hunters, birdwatchers, and outdoor recreation advocates. In the past, these groups had never collaborated. In fact, at times they opposed one another on legislative issues.

Budget
PPW organized with no funding. Individuals and PPW member organizations responded to an urgent call for support with private donations of nearly $25,000. The money helped pay for a part-time campaign director/lobbyist. Other donations of materials totaled approximately $20,000 for printing, design and out of pocket costs. All professional planning, strategy development, day-to-day PR counsel, and state-wide media relations was provided pro bono by two public relations specialists: 1) Jill Allread, principal at PCI and chairwoman of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, which oversees the state’s nature preserves; and 2) Lynn McClure, PR Director for the Illinois Association of Park Districts, which represents 354 local units of government involved in parks and conservation. The value of the pro bono services donated exceeded $89,000 over the six-month program.

Objectives
Within days of the budget announcement, PPW volunteers developed a campaign plan with the objectives to:

• Raise at least $20,000 in private donations within one month in order to fund the campaign
• Enlist support and PPW membership of at least 100 organizations dedicated to parks and natural areas
• Mobilize concerned citizens statewide to write at least 1,000 letters to legislators and to local newspapers about the importance of restoring NAAF and OSLAD funding
• Secure votes from a majority of both Republicans and Democrats and of members of appropriations committees, in order to get the funds reinstated in the state budget.

Research
PPW’s communications team needed immediate data and other facts to help build the case for why the public should care enough about the NAAF and OSLAD funding to contact their legislator and demand the funds be restored. The Illinois Association of Park Districts, a core member of PPW, had just published results from a statewide telephone survey of 1,200 Illinois residents on how they feel about open space preservation and the quality of locally provided parks and recreation. The findings, including the fact that 90 percent believe parks and open space increase property values, helped build a strong case for the importance of reinstating the state funding support.

PPW members also conducted primary informal research, interviewing key state representatives and senators to determine their level of support for reinstating the funding. The report helped identify which legislators were already advocates for PPW and which could be convinced to eventually vote for the proposal. The data also helped identify legislative districts where it would be critical to get constituent support.

Strategies
Based on the research findings, PPW developed strategies to 1) use e-mail listservs to generate wide-spread public support from constituents willing to contact their legislators on the issue; 2) build a web site to use as a central information resource for the public; and 3) use media coverage, editorial board support, letter writing campaigns and public comment to convince elected officials to restore the NAAF and OSLAD funds in this year’s budget.

Tactics and Execution
The campaign came to life with the development of the Partners for Parks and Wildlife name, a logo and a mission statement. The communications team developed key messages designed for each specific audience, including legislators and concerned citizens, including conservationists, recreation users, hunters and business leaders. Other tools, such as talking points, fact sheets and handouts also incorporated the messages. Other tactics included:

• A PPW web site that provided detailed information on the issues and informed citizens 1) why they should get involved and 2) how they could contact their legislators
• State-wide editorial board meetings, which generated more than 65 supportive media messages and cartoons
• A high-profile rally in the Capitol, featuring displays by 58 PPW member groups, followed by a lobbying day
• A news conference in the State Capitol calling for reinstatement of the funds
• A letter-writing campaign targeting key legislators and the governor, as well as media
• Strategic media relations designed to engage outdoor and environmental writers in the issue state wide

With limited resources, PPW relied on unique communications tools to reach legislators and their constituents. Listservs, developed through the combined mailing lists of participating organizations, provided a fast, economic means for sending frequent progress reports and calls to action. Listservs enabled PPW’s small leadership group to mobilize large numbers of people -- from bird watchers to Little League coaches to duck hunters. The campaign also used action alerts at critical junctures to generate calls and e-mails to specific elected officials.

Although the legislative session usually ends in May, the session was extended two months to address the state’s budget crisis. While many other groups ceased their lobbying efforts at the end of May, PPW sustained its campaign by relying on pro bono and volunteer services. As late as July 23, PPW generated hundreds of calls to legislative leaders. The budget passed on July 24 with all the funds restored.

The PPW campaign demonstrated that reaching citizens and their elected officials with persuasive, relevant messages and data could make a significant impact on budgetary decisions and outcomes, even in a tight budget year.

Just one day before legislators approved the state’s budget, political leaders from both parties agreed to restore the entire $34 million NAAF and OSLAD funds. This bipartisan support is extremely rare in Illinois politics. Both Democrat and Republican legislators reported that they received more letters, calls and e-mails from constituents on this issue than any other single issue during the legislative session. The campaign met and exceeded each objective. The results included:

• A successful return on investment. The $45,000 in donations and $89,000 pro bono public relations services recouped $50 million in savings, plus it protected the dedicated funding for OSLAD and NAAF.
• Enlisting nearly 140 organizations in the campaign, 40 percent over the objective.
• Generating more than 4,000 letters to legislators and newspapers, four times the objective.
• Garnering more than 24 editorials in Illinois newspapers supporting the campaign.
• Securing more votes than the required majority of bipartisan votes to restore all the funding.

PPW’s campaign resulted in $34 million restored to the final budget during a time when many state programs and services were eliminated. The campaign’s success attracted the attention of an independent, environmental research group called Sustain that conducted an extensive post-campaign analysis of the communications program. The detailed evaluation and report serves as a model for other grassroots organizations seeking guidance in developing successful, strategic public affairs campaign.

Finally, the campaign’s success generated state-wide visibility and fostered additional support for Partners for Parks and Wildlife, enabling the coalition to continue its work protecting and increasing state funding for park development; wildlife habitat preservation; natural areas stewardship; and open space acquisition.