Foster named to Heartlands Conservancy board of directors

Heartlands Conservancy has appointed Edwardsville attorney Ronald Foster, Jr. to its board of directors.

The organization, based in Mascoutah, is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with landowners and community leaders to permanently protect farms, forests, wetlands, wildlife habitat, open spaces and scenic vistas. It has been successful at obtaining a variety of federal, state and private foundation grants from projects that extend from the new Alton multi-modal center to preserving large areas in Monroe County.

 

Foster is a partner at Schoen Walton Telken & Foster. His term lasts through 2017.

 

“Our region is full of natural spaces, rivers, and communities that need to be maintained and protected,” he said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to serving on the Heartland Conservancy Board and supporting their efforts to protect our great environmental resources throughout Southern and Southwestern Illinois.”

 

The board consists of business, labor, environmental and education leaders including those in the fields of law and natural resources. They meet quarterly under the direction of Executive Director Dave Eustis and a team of planners and engineers dedicated to preserving the environment.

 

“Heartlands Conservancy has a track record of a commitment to the environment, from conducting invasive species removal, river cleanups and projects to maintain the area’s water quality,” Foster said. “Most recently, the Conservancy won an award from the St. Louis American Planning Association for its Arlington Wetlands restoration project.”

Frank Miles, vice chairman of the Conservancy Board welcomed Foster.

"Ron will make a fine addition to the team,” Miles said. “Interest and involvement in his community is not new to Ron or his family as Ron's father served in local government for many years and the Foster family is involved in many civic and philanthropic activities."