In 2019, Vireo worked with stakeholders and officials from all over the county to create a Systemwide Natural Resource Plan for Johnson County’s 10,000+ acres of County-owned parkland. The effort documented the area’s natural resources, included significant public engagement, and put plans in place to protect (while increasing access to) the county’s wildest areas.

In 2025, Vireo led a comprehensive update to the 2019 plan, working with more than 40 stakeholders and experts. The update includes:

• assessing the progress made following the 2019 plan

• revising priorities for the next five years 

• aligning with newer resource management plans for individual parks

• creating a strategy for promoting ecological connectivity across the county 

• providing a guide for streambank stabilization best practices

• developing a conservation easement framework

• documenting a framework for evaluating private lands for the purpose of providing management guidance and tools for long-term protection including conservation easements to landowners within the county.

2026 Merit Award
American Society Of Landscape Architects
Central States

2026 Award of Honor
American Society Of Landscape Architects
Prairie Gateway Chapter