Put Friday, November 6 on your calendar to be at Congress 2026! Registration opens on Monday, August 3. 

This year we're celebrating 30 years of collaboration, conservation, and the perseverance of people like you. Congress is our biannual gathering where people from across our four-state region come together to learn and gain inspiration from their peers.  

See you at the College of Lake County for an outstanding day of learning and networking.

Questions about Congress 2026? Contact Cherie Fisher, Alliance Program Manager. 

Registration Coming August 3: FREE Field Trips

The Negaunee Foundation’s generous support of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance Field Trips will help advance regional conservation by making four field-based learning experiences available at no cost.

These excursions highlight habitat protection and ecological restoration at the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Plains Coastal Preserves, sustainable and regenerative agriculture at select sites across Lake County, and native seed banking and propagation initiatives at Rollins Savanna and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Learn more and come back on Monday, August 3 to register:

• Lake County Agriculture Field Trip
• SEEDS GALORE! Field Trip
• Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip
• Lake Plain Coastal Preserves Field Trip (morning)
• Lake Plain Coastal Preserves Field Trip (afternoon)

Become a Sponsor and Support Regional Conservation

 

As we mark 30 years of impact, we invite you to help shape what comes next. Your sponsorship of Congress 2026 is an investment in collaboration, leadership, and a shared conservation future. 

Your support ensures that conservation professionals can come together, share solutions, and grow forward—together—at a moment when leadership and collaboration matter more than ever.

Click on the sponsor level links below to join the list of supporters.

• $25,000 Sponsor: Patron

  Includes 12 complimentary Congress tickets, 4 field trip tickets, speaking opportunity, premiere tabling opportunity at Congress, plus special recognition at the 30th Anniversary Party
  

• $10,000 Sponsor

  Includes 10 complimentary Congress tickets, 2 field trip tickets,  premiere tabling opportunity at Congress, plus special recognition at the 30th Anniversary Party
  

• $5,000 Sponsor

  Includes 8 complimentary Congress tickets, 1 field trip ticket, and tabling opportunity at Congress

• $2,500 Sponsor

  Includes 6 complimentary Congress tickets and tabling opportunity at Congress
  

• $1,000 Sponsor

  Includes 4 complimentary Congress tickets and tabling opportunity at Congress
  

• $500 Sponsor

  Includes 2 complimentary Congress tickets
  

• $250 Sponsor

  Includes 1 complimentary Congress ticket
  

• $100 Donate a Congress Scholarship

  Help those who cannot afford registration attend Congress 2026 free of charge

Thanks to Our Growing List of Congress 2026 Sponsors

Negaunee Foundation
Field Trip Sponsor 

Questions about sponsorship? Contact Laura Reilly, Alliance Managing Director.