Thursday, February 02, 2006
Special to suffredin.org

Cook County Illinois.  Today, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (13th District) and the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board congratulated John Rogner on being awarded the 2005 Department of Interior Environmental Achievement Award for Environmental Stewardship at the meeting of the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

John Rogner is a Field Office Supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Chicago Ecological Services Field Office.  Mr. Rogner was one of only three recipients across the country to receive the 2005 award and in doing so joins 69 others who have been honored by the Department of the Interior since it began presenting the Environmental Achievement Awards in 1995.  Mr. Rogner was recognized for 10 years of leadership and support for the Chicago Wilderness Consortium and his ongoing commitment to protecting, restoring and managing the Chicago region’s natural resources.

As Chairman of the Chicago Region Biodiversity Council, Mr. Rogner helped foster the growth of the consortium to a membership of 177 organizations and was instrumental in the development of the region’s Biodiversity Plan that is being applied to 250, 000 acres of protected natural lands from southwestern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana.

In addition to his hands-on work in the field, John has been instrumental in helping to raise funding for local projects; he helped form the Chicago Wilderness Corporate Council, a mechanism for partnering with corporate entities, secured over $5.2 million in the last ten years which has been matched by federal agencies and helped establish the Chicago Wilderness Trust.

Commissioner Suffredin expressed his congratulations to Mr. Rogner on his dedication and commitment to protecting the environment in partnership with Cook County. “This is a chance for us to recognize a partner in government and acknowledge his dedication to the people of this country and the people of the County of Cook.”

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