Living Lands & Waters

“Part iii, item 4a - community river clean-up projects covering several waterways in various states.”

“In continuing our quest to improve the cleanliness and quality of our nation's rivers while engaging citizens in the process, the ll&w crew hosted 65 community cleanups in 9 states and on 6 different rivers in 2019. With the help of 2,706 awesome volunteers, we were able to remove 326,679 pounds of garbage using muscle power alone. We also conducted 118 crew and excavator cleanups and were able to remove an additional 194,558 pounds.”

“Part iii, item 4b - million trees project consisting of growing and replanting trees and reforestation of areas along waterways.”

“The milliontrees project was initiated in 2007 to help further our mission to protect, preserve and restore the natural environment of our nation's major rivers and their watersheds. Our mission is to not only clean up the riverways, but to also enhance the watershed by planting native trees and removing invasive plants. Project goals are to re-establish native, nut-bearing, hardwood trees along waterways and within communities, provide shelter and a viable food source for wildlife and migratory birds, increase biodiversity, help reduce erosion and run-off, improve water and air quality and create an awareness regarding the value of planting native hardwoods. The largest land restoration project in idot history totaling 28 acres, the i-80 restoration project focuses on restoring two tracks of land into a native prairie. This highly visible property is situated where interstate 80 crosses the mississippi river in illinois and can be viewed from the illinois welcome center, which overlooks the beautiful mississippi river valley. Not only that, nearly 200 years ago, illinois used to be 60% prairie. Of the nearly 22 million acres of prairie that was in the state in the 1820's, only .01% is left today. This decrease in prairie has resulted in habitat loss for native animals such as bison, deer, birds and many more. Restoring this parcel of land to its native landscape will provide countless benefits to the local ecosystem and raise awareness among the public of this endangered ecosystem.”

“Part iii, item 4c - education of the public about the environment/ecology through river cleanups, educational workshop and reforestation.”

“In partnership with the us army corps of engineers, ll&w hosts free one-day workshops for educators (both traditional and non-traditional) on the corps' new curriculum and activities guide, our mississippi river, in addition to sharing lessons created for workshops in the "floating classroom" <https://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/what-we-do/ education/student-educati onal-workshops/ labactivities.html>. This curriculum is awesome and aligned with each state on the mississippi's educational standards to make it as easy for teachers as possible. In addition to curriculum training, ll&w spends some time in the field with each group showing them firsthand different facets of the river via our workboats.”

“The completed form 990 is provided to all board members for their review before filing.”

“Governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public by request. Annual financial statements available on organizations website.”

“The finance manager reviews all invoices for any possible conflicts of interest. If necessary, any conflicts are discussed with the board.”

“The organization maintains accounts at this bank.”

“Independent accountant compiles financial statements each month. Board reviews and accepts statements.”

“The organization's ceo compensation is reveiwed and approved by the governing body (board) annually.”

“Other employees' compensation is reveiwed and approved by the governing body (board) annually.”

“Organizational by-laws were amended in order to clarify the entity's charitable purpose and to permit the board by a two-thirds vote to waive term limitations on board service and permit an individual board member to serve continuously for an indefinite period, although only one board member may serve on the board persuant to such a waiver at any given time.”

“Amended return due to ertc in 2020 and correction of percentage on schedule a, part ii. This changed pages 1, 9, 11 and schedule a”

“Great mississippi river cleanup and i-80 11330. 6473. 22000.”