​​​​Fertile soils and a historically mild climate make this one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, but also led to widespread land conversion and dramatic losses of natural habitats. A changing climate brings new challenges to the region, but despite these the Heartland continues to hold great promise for nature conservation. Large tracts of connected forests remain a prominent feature of the Great Lakes landscape, helping to protect 20 percent of the world’s available freshwater. Remnants of the highly diverse prairie ecosystems are scattered throughout the region, and unique wetlands abound, supporting more than 50 percent of the nation’s migratory waterfowl. The Nature Conservancy, working with partners from eight states and two countries, has completed a large multi-year study to identify and map the climate-resilient sites that could sustain the prairies, potholes, loess hills, shoreline forests and remote peatlands of this remarkably fertile region. Here you will find a report explaining the methods, datasets for download, and interactive web tools to explore the results and measure the resilience of places you know. The project was supported by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.View Resilience in other Geographies: