Council

Established in 2001, the Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Trails Council:

• Promotes water trails awareness;
• Improves access to water trails;
• Sustains funding for a regional water trails system;
• Provides technical assistance;
• Establishes system-wide standards;
• Coordinates promotion and user information (signage and maps);
• Supplies expert speakers for meetings, seminars, and workshops; and
• Orchestrates public events and environmental education to inspire stewardship and appreciation of the waterways.

Membership is voluntary, and all interested stakeholders are invited to participate. Council members (listed below) meet six times a year.

• Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Chicago Park District
• Chicago River Water Trail Committee
• Chicagoland Canoe Base
• City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development
• Des Plaines River Access Group
• Des Plaines River Water Trail Committee
• DuPage County Department of Environmental Concerns
• DuPage River Water Trail Committee
• Forest Preserve District of Cook County
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
• Forest Preserve District of Will County
• Forest Preserve District of Kane County
• Fox River Water Trail Committee
• Fox Valley Park District
• Friends of the Chicago River
• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources
• Illinois Department of Transportation
• Illinois Paddling Council
• Kendall County Forest Preserve District
• Lake County Forest Preserves
• Lake Michigan Water Trail Committee
• McHenry County Conservation District
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
• National Park Service
• Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
• Openlands
• Park District of Highland Park
• Prairie State Canoeists
• Reed’s Canoe Trips
• River Forest Park District
• The Conservation Foundation
• The Northwest Passage
• Village of Itasca
• Village of Lincolnshire
• Village of Morton Grove
• Village of Plainfield
• Village of Riverside
• Village of Thornton
• Village of Wheeling