Regional cooperation to conserve nature for future generations 

The Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership (LEAP) for Biodiversity promotes collaboration among conservation-related organizations in a large ecoregion centered on Northeast Ohio. As a voluntary network of more than 40 nonprofit organizations and public agencies, LEAP helps its members identify, protect and restore the diverse habitats of the region, as well as promote greater public awareness of those habitats.

LEAP was first convened by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2004. Its territory encompasses the glaciated lands and waters south of Canada from Sandusky Bay to the Allegheny Mountains in northwest Pennsylvania (see map, PDF 569KB). This region contains diverse habitats and rare ecosystems that harbor many unique and uncommon species. But it's also a region where the remaining natural systems are fragmented and under great pressure from development.

LEAP members are working together in the areas of communication and information exchange, organizational capacity, and public outreach/education. They are also developing a Regional Biodiversity Plan and a Regional Biodiversity Fund (see links below).

The partnership is staffed by the Botany Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. For more information, contact Renee Boronka.