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AGENCIES
SCRAMBLE TO PROTECT ISOLATED WETLANDS
A new Illinois task force is scrambling to protect the state’s
isolated wetlands, according to Ward Miller of the Lake
County Stormwater Management Commission. In January the
US Supreme Court ruled that owners of isolated wetlands
no longer need to get a permit from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to fill them in (CW, Spring 2001, p. 32).
The ruling, it seemed, finally put to rest a 16-year battle
over whether a heron rookery and bordering wetlands in Bartlett,
Illinois, would be converted to a garbage dump. With the
Supreme Court ruling, isolated wetlands were no longer the
federal government’s responsibility. Now the state
of Illinois has recently decided to acquire a portion of
the proposed “Bartlett Balefill,” which triggered
the issue of isolated wetland protection. The state hopes
to acquire 283 acres in Cook County for a reported $21 million,
to preserve the site where great blue herons have bred for
years.
But that wise move doesn’t protect the rest of the
state’s lonely wetlands. Consequently, many independent
agencies have begun to act.
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission wasted
no time amending its watershed ordinance to protect the
nearly 7,000 acres of isolated wetlands that lost federal
protection as a result of the Supreme Court decision. The
new regulations, passed by the Lake County Board in August,
authorize the Commission to require permits for anyone wanting
to fill in isolated wetlands one-quarter acre or larger.
Developers must reconstruct wetlands on the site equal to
or greater in size than those they fill in, or contribute
funds to recreate or restore wetland habitats within Lake
County.
DuPage County also has strict wetland protection ordinances,
and Kane, McHenry, and Will Counties are also working toward
that end. Illinois State Rep. Karen May, of Highland Park
recently scheduled meetings in Lake and Cook counties to
discuss legislation protecting all Illinois’ isolated
wetlands. The first hearing was on Aug. 24 at Ryerson Conservation
Area in Deerfield, and the second was Sept. 20 at the James
R. Thompson Center in Chicago.
“We’re taking important initial steps with these
meetings in order to first understand the scope of the wetlands
issue and, secondly, to hear from regulating agencies about
how best to proceed in Illinois,” said May, who was
recently appointed chair of the Illinois House Task Force
on Regulation of Wetlands. May is interested in Lake County’s
ordinance as an example of what could be done throughout
the state.
Wetlands replenish groundwater, prevent flooding, absorb
pollutants, and provide habitat for some of Chicago Wilderness
region’s rarest birds, including the state-endangered
yellow-headed blackbird and black-crowned night heron.
“Local and regional protection efforts are needed immediately
if we are to minimize the loss of critical isolated wetlands,”
said Dennis Dreher of the Northeastern Illinois Planning
Commission. Dreher recently drafted a position paper for
Chicago Wilderness urging action on behalf of wetlands –
and it seems state and local officials agree the time to
act is now.
–
Sheryl De Vore
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CHICAGO
WILDERNESS BIODIVERSITY RECOVERY PLAN WINS ANOTHER AWARD
The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) has
bestowed its 2001 National Achievement Award for major metropolitan
areas to the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission for
the Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan. This
is the first time this national group for regional planning
agencies has given such an award to the Chicago region.
Already the recipient of the annual award for Outstanding
Plan from the American Planning Association (CW, Spring
2001, p. 32), the Recovery Plan has now snagged two top
planning awards. John Rogner, chair of the Chicago Region
Biodiversity Council, and Herb Schumann, commissioner of
the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and a member
of the NARC and NIPC boards, traveled to Omaha, Nebraska,
in June to receive the award.
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ORCHID
RECOVERY SUCCESS BODES WELL FOR OTHER SPECIES
Both people and orchids are going bonkers this summer. That’s
the word from the Orchid Recovery Project – volunteers
assisting the federally threatened prairie white-fringed
orchid in one of its major strongholds, northeastern Illinois.
“An original site that I characterized as having a
small population had almost 500 orchids this year,”
reported June Keibler, project coordinator. “Many of
our assumptions are thrown into chaos as the project unfolds.”
“This data tells us how important it is to look at
a population over a long period of time,” commented
Marlin Bowles, research botanist at the Morton Arboretum,
who wrote the draft recovery plan for the plant. “Then
you can begin to get a sense of what the dynamics of this
plant really are.”
In 1993, when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service began
the project, 199 orchids were counted at 28 sites. In 1999,
monitors found 887 orchids. This July, more than 800 orchids
were counted on two sites alone. “We have over 1,000
orchids this year,” Keibler said.
Most Recovery Project sites are now managed by burning and
brush control, which may partly explain this year’s
high numbers, said Bowles.
Plants have been hand-pollinated at many sites, since natural
pollinators often don’t find these small populations.
Seeds from those pollinated plants have been collected and
dispersed into additional sites, where plants had either
been known to exist or where surviving species that are
often associated with this orchid indicated that the habitat
might be suitable. This season, one of these dispersal sites
had almost 50 orchids.
Six new populations have been identified since the project
began, including two new ones this year. The procedures
used in this project were pioneered by one of the early
stewardship volunteer groups, the North Branch Restoration
Project, in the 1980s. One of this year’s new populations
was discovered at Somme Nature Preserve. Seeds were dispersed
at the preserve in 1993 and 1994, but other grasses and
plants easily camouflage orchid plants until they flower,
which can take four to five years. “This year we were
ready to give up,” said Laurel Ross, steward at the
preserve and Chicago Wilderness area director, The Nature
Conservancy. “In the very last place we looked I found
a big, healthy flowering plant. I started screaming.”
“I’m very hopeful that we’ll find more orchids
at this site. There is no reason to think there is only
one plant,” Ross added. The plant has since been pollinated
by hand with pollen from four or five plants at an adjacent
site. The flowering orchid, a delicacy to deer, is also
now surviving in a cage. Deer overpopulation is one of the
reasons orchid populations have declined.
Plans are underway to expand the project downstate. The
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is collecting
seeds and identifying suitable habitat sites. Sites that
are managed and protected, are of sufficient size to sustain
a population, and have the right plant community and hydrology
are candidates for the program. The project is funded by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with The
Nature Conservancy, IDNR, the Illinois Nature Preserves
Commis-sion, the Morton Arboretum, and the Chicago Botanic
Garden.
To volunteer for the Orchid Recovery Project, contact June
Keibler at (847) 428-5567 or jkeibl@aol.com.
– Alison Carney Brown
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| Photo:
Courtesy Alcoa |
CORPORATE
NEIGHBORS HELP
NURTURE MIDEWIN
Several corporate neighbors have helped nurture Midewin
National Tallgrass Prairie since the 19,000-acre preserve
was created more than five years ago. In that tradition,
this summer 15 employees from Alcoa Engineered Products,
Morris Operation put on heavy-duty work gloves and for four
hours pulled the invasive Canada thistle from Midewin’s
purple prairie clover and prairie dropseed
nursery beds. The 60-hour investment in the prairie earned
a matching $3,000 donation from Alcoa to the Midewin National
Tallgrass Prairie Alliance. “It was great to be a part
of bringing back some history,” said Jerry Prindiville
of Alcoa. “We mostly just pulled weeds, but we saw
the end results of that work. We saw the prairie plant seedlings
that were originally in this area. Many of us had no idea
that these plants grew on the original prairie.”
Another
caring corporate neighbor, ExxonMobil’s Joliet Refinery,
has been a Midewin supporter from the start, participating
in both corporate and public workdays; providing a lunch
wagon for several events; and matching employee volunteer
hours at Midewin with cash grants that have helped support
interpretive and restoration projects.
“I have seen several volunteers come to workdays and
proudly point out the nursery beds they had worked on before,”
said Connie Heinrich, treasurer of the Midewin National
Tallgrass Prairie Alliance. “With a little imagination,
we can picture what Midewin will become in the years that
follow.” To volunteer at Midewin, contact Connie Heinrich
at heinrich790@cs.com.
–
Alison Carney Brown
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RESTORING
WOODED ISLAND FOR THE BIRDS – AND BIRDERS
Restoration began this summer on the perimeter shore of
the lagoon around one of the region’s most famous birding
spots – Wooded Island in Chicago’s Jackson Park.
Sections of the lagoon’s shoreline will be rebuilt
or re-graded and several islets that have either severely
eroded or have disappeared entirely will be reconstructed.
The $2.5 million Chicago Park District project will heal
and enhance an area that has long been a Chicago hotspot
for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts. The lagoon was
originally connected to Lake Michigan in a loop that flowed
through the various Jackson Park harbors. The flow was either
cut off or diminished decades ago, and the lagoon’s
water source has been primarily rainwater ever since. To
help stabilize fluctuating water levels that cause erosion,
a water control structure will be re-built just under the
Music Court bridge (next to the 59th Street marina). A six-inch
force main will allow fresh lake water to be drawn in and
excess water to flow out to improve water quality and to
minimize stagnation.
The lagoon’s islets, inaccessible to humans, dogs,
and rats, serve as nesting sights for a number of bird species
and will be returned to their original dimensions. Two temporary
earthen bridges will be constructed to allow access for
heavy machinery. Trees, including Ohio buckeyes, maples,
riverbirch, redbud, hackberry, hornbeam, and oaks will be
planted on the islets and edges. Swamp milkweed, bottlebrush,
various sedges, sneezeweed, frogfruit, blueflag, waterwillow,
common arrowhead, and other aquatic plants will be established
along the shores.
Parts of the shoreline will be re-graded or rebuilt with
limestone that was salvaged from the Lincoln Park Zoo’s
Rookery, allowing direct access to the water’s edge.
Many dead trees and nonnative trees will be removed. Some
snags, valuable habitat for fish and birds, will remain.
Many species of woody plants including buttonbush, spice
bush, American filbert, blackberry, elderberry and bladdernut
will be planted.
Work will continue on the project through next year. “While
this project will initially be a disruption, in the long
run, we’ll have a better habitat and ecosystem,”
stated Ross Peterson of the Jackson Park Advisory Council.
The council is looking for volunteers to help out with various
aspects of this and other projects. Contact Ross at (773)
975-1101.
–
Michael Graff
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CHICAGO
WATER PLANT BECOMES A BIRD SANCTUARY
Chicago’s James W. Jardine Water Purification Plant,
the largest purification plant in the world, was completed
in 1965. Today, the aging infrastructure, located just north
of Navy Pier, needs work. So Chicago’s Department of
Water has begun the revamping, which includes some unusual
landscaping. “At the mayor’s direction, we took
the opportunity to add to our bird sanctuary,” explained
Water Commissioner Richard A. Rice. Parts of adjacent Olive
Park have been planted as bird habitat, and now the replacement
of mowed lawn with savanna and woodland will extend to the
neighboring treatment plant as well.
“Our model is Montrose and the Magic Hedge,” noted
Ted Wolff, landscape designer at Wolff Clements and Associates,
the contractors on the project. The Chicago Park District
in recent years has done considerable habitat restoration
at those two sites, which, like Jardine, are lakefront migratory
bird stops. “Birds can stop at Jardine to rest and
feed in a sanctuary where they won’t be disturbed by
humans or cats and dogs,” added Wolff. Jardine is a
high security facility, accessible to the public only during
special tours.
Phase one of the landscape enhancement project began this
summer. An area of bluegrass turf was striped for what is
going to be savanna habitat with trees and mixed meadow
plantings. In late May, contractors dug shallow scrapes
that quickly filled in with rain. Groups of common birds
that hadn’t been seen at Jardine before, showed up
right away, including chickadees and barn swallows.
More than 400 trees, among them ironwood, shingle oak, and
black cherry, will be planted in Jardine’s two corner
areas that make up about one acre of land. As the tree canopy
takes over, sedges will be planted for the herbaceous understory.
Wolff asked the Mayor’s Wildlife and Nature Committee
to review the project’s species list and compile input
from local birders, and took much of their advice to help
ensure that the birds and other wildlife will find what
they need at the site.
“We wanted to improve on what we already have at Jardine,”
said Commis-sioner Rice, “and these enhancements do
that while reducing some of our landscaping maintenance
costs. The prairie grasses we’re planting will eliminate
some of our mowing costs and cut down on lawnmower emissions.”
The city is being remarkably creative at finding areas where
the needs of people and nature correspond. Happy days.
–Alison Carney Brown
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CHICAGO WILDERNESS
WELCOMES FIVE NEW MEMBERS
On July 11, the Chicago Wilderness Council approved five
new members, bringing the total to 136. The mission of the
Kendall County Forest Preserve District is to preserve
and manage natural areas and open spaces, provide environmental
education, and offer recreational opportunities to Kendall
County residents. Purdue University Calumet is dedicated
to the land grant tradition of which it is a part and is
especially concerned with serving the people of Northwest
Indiana. CorLands provides technical assistance and
financing to local governments in the Chicago Wilderness
region for their work acquiring open space. The Eden
Place Nature Center in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood
seeks to provide a live simulation of a nature preserve
with a bio-diversified environment that explores the mechanics
of a wetland, prairie, and woodland, supplemented with multimedia
and live presentations to spark the imaginations of our
children. Eden Place will be a doorway for the South Side
residents of Chicago to the world of nature. The Village
of Orland Park provides recreational programs to meet
leisure needs of the community and seeks to maintain and
enhance a high quality level of environmental life through
parks, open space, special venues, and restoration.
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| Photo:
Ron Panzer |
HOW
DO YOU COAX A CATERPILLAR INTO A CARROT?
Ten years ago, that was one of the vexing questions Doug
Taron, now curator of biology at the Peggy Notebaert Nature
Museum, needed to answer to ensure the survival of one of
the very few known May apple stem borer moth (Papaipema
cerina) colonies in Illinois and Indiana. In 1991, Taron
discovered the caterpillars at a woodland in Elgin –
now a housing development and an extension of Shales Parkway.
Taron, one of the stewards at Bluff Spring Fen, went with
the site’s management team to the unprotected Elgin
site to rescue spring ephemerals. Dr. Ron Panzer, conservation
biologist at Northeastern Illinois University, had told
Taron about the stem borer, a moth that lives in high quality
oak woodlands, and suggested that he keep an eye out for
damaged May apples. “As the others were looking for
plants, I began noticing brown May apples within the large
clones of green plants growing there,” Taron remembered.
“Many contained caterpillars in the stems.”
The species starts out eating bottlebrush grass and, when
bigger, bores into the stem and roots primarily of May apples.
Raising 74 caterpillars in Taron’s home meant identifying
another food source. Dr. Panzer, who advised Taron throughout
the project, suggested carrots. “He was rearing the
rattlesnake master stem borer, and wanted to try a more
readily available food source, but one that was in the same
plant family as rattlesnake master,” Taron explained.
“He tried carrots, then discovered that this method
worked for other moths in the genus Papaipema. I
had no carrots at home when I got my first caterpillars,
so I tried asparagus. It didn’t work,” Taron reported,
“which is just as well considering the relative costs
of asparagus and carrots!”
Taron drilled holes into the carrots and coaxed the caterpillars
in by pointing and nudging them in the right direction.
They pupated in late August 1991. When they emerged as adult
moths, he released them, with permission from the Illinois
Nature Preserves Commission, at Bluff Spring Fen.
“This July, damaged plants that contained caterpillars
were found at Bluff Spring Fen,” said the surprised
Taron. “The colony has therefore successfully reproduced
in each of the intervening years.”
– Alison Carney Brown
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CURLEW
SANDPIPERS, ARCTIC TERNS, AND WHIMBRELS FIND NAVAL SANCTUARY
What do these birds have in common? They have all been seen
this summer at Great Lakes Naval Training Center at the
newly created Protected Bird Sanctuary at the tip of the
peninsula (CW, Summer 2001, p. 33). Other notable birds
have included willets, stilts, many plovers and sandpipers,
and a nesting colony of state-endangered common terns. Clearly,
this is a significant conservation area for resting, foraging,
and nesting birds.
In mid-September, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR) together with naval personnel at Great Lakes organized
a work day to further improve the habitat for nesting and
migrant species and provide better viewing opportunities
through improved sight lines for birders. Anticipate seeing
migrant Le Conte’s and Nelson’s sharp tailed sparrows
and American pipits this fall.
Kudos to IDNR, Great Lakes, and volunteer organizer Donald
Dann!
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RARE
POLICIES – AND PEOPLE – BENEFIT BIRDS AND PLANTS
AT
ILLINOIS BEACH STATE PARK
A woodpecker and a nuthatch never seen in Illinois. A state
park with a dedicated nature preserve. Birders hungering
to add a new species to their lists. Park officials working
to protect a rare ecosystem.
This story of conservation ethics recently unfolded at Illinois
Beach State Park in Lake County, when the federally endangered
red-cockaded woodpecker and the brown-headed nuthatch, a
national species of conservation concern, were discovered
there, far away from their homes in southeastern United
States.
While the discoveries are important to the ornithological
world, the way in which the discoveries were treated is
equally, if not more, important.
So a decision had to be made when Al Stokie, Robert Erickson,
and Paul Sweet found the red-cockaded woodpecker on August
19, 2000, and rediscovered it in a part of the park where
they had permission to venture, but which was off limits
to the public. Park manager Bob Grosso graciously allowed
birders to search for the woodpecker provided they received
the proper permits for entering the special use area, and
took care not to trample the sensitive vegetation. Because
of his decision, and help from Natural Resources Coordinator
Bill Wengelewski and park biologist Susan Wright, hundreds
of happy birders added this species to their life lists.
Last seen December 10, 2000, the woodpecker probably perished
during the winter.
Just as the excitement over the woodpecker was fading, Illinois
Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Brad
Semel discovered another new state bird on July 11, 2001,
at the park – the brown-headed nuthatch. Semel, who
is studying plant life and hydrology there, said this particular
nuthatch has nearly the same distribution as the red-cockaded
woodpecker. The nuthatch was also seen perched in the same
tree in which the red-cockaded woodpecker had roosted.
Another decision had to be made.
Semel found the nuthatch at a time when most of the state-listed
endangered and threatened plants at the park were in bloom
or had just set seed. “A single footprint could have
obliterated a year’s reproductive effort,” he
said. After careful consideration, park officials decided
to schedule guided outings for 10 to 15 people at a time
to view the bird. Wengelewski coordinated the walks –
and again many happy birders added the species to their
lists.
Illinois Beach State Park contains 4,160 acres and encompasses
6.5 miles of sandy shoreline, providing habitat for 650
species of plants and at least 300 species of birds (now
at least 302). About one-fourth of the park is a designated
Illinois State Nature Preserve.
The federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker sports
a glossy black crown and nape, bright white checks, and
a black-and-white barred back. The number of this species
is declining.
The brown-headed nuthatch has, as one might have guessed,
a brown head (as opposed to the dark blue heads of the white-breasted
nuthatch, which lives in Illinois year-round, and the red-breasted
nuthatch, which occasionally breeds here and also ventures
here in winter).
Though non-migratory, brown-headed nuthatches and red-cockaded
woodpeckers will disperse to new locations for various reasons,
such as habitat destruction or low food production.
Illinois Beach State Park seems like a good location for
birds like these. It’s next to a large body of water
and the large stand of mature pines, though not native to
Illinois, offered food and respite for these weary nomads.
The brown-headed nuthatch was still being seen at the park
as of late August.
A cautionary word: Please do not enter the park’s off-limit
area. Call Bill Wengelewski for more information at (847)
662-4811. One non-compliant person can ruin policies that
benefit not only birders, but also the rare vegetation at
Illinois Beach State Park.
– Sheryl De Vore
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ADOPT
THE CHICAGO RIVER
A neighbor sits against a tree reading while red-winged
blackbirds fly overhead and rowboat teams sluice through
a stretch of the Chicago River. We humans think of the river
as our own. But the river, littered and degraded, needs
some quality parenting – skills Friends of the Chicago
River (FCR) can nurture in their new Adopt-A-River program.
“We want to give neighbors, community groups, and landowners
the training and support to take good care of the river,”
offered Cynthia Fox, FCR stewardship coordinator.
Friends’ Adopt-A-River program will help address the
channeled river’s problems of scarce and degraded habitat,
poor water quality, and rubbish, by recruiting a network
of stewardship groups that adopt sites along the Chicago
River. FCR will provide the training and resources to support
a variety of adoption activities including cleanup and restoration
workdays, pollution prevention solutions, and stabilization
and restoration of eroding streambanks.
FCR has served as guardian of the Chicago River for 22 years.
The Adopt-A-River program is based on similar programs across
the country and will build on the success of local neighborhood
groups such as the Riverside Neighbors – residents
near Berteau Avenue who have been improving conditions at
their river-edge site for more than five years.
To adopt a site, each stewardship group must commit for
a minimum of two years to monitor their site once every
60 days and participate in Chicago River Rescue Day. People
can join an existing stewardship group or start a new group
and/or support a group financially.
FCR envisions a continuous Chicago River Trail, linking
the more than 50 urban neighborhoods and suburban communities
along the river’s ecologically healthy 156 miles. To
befriend The Chicago River, contact Cynthia at (312) 939-0490,
ext.13.
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NEW
NATURE SANCTUARY FOR CHICAGO’S SOUTH SHORE
Volunteers have long dreamed of a nature center on the peninsula
at the South Shore Cultural Center (SSCC) at 71st Street
and South Shore Drive in Chicago, where sand has collected
into a dune and a rare plant, the sea rocket, has found
a footing. In January 2000, when a junior golf center was
proposed instead, the dream galvanized people into action.
At a Chicago Park District meeting, the SSCC Advisory Council
and birders rallied for a nature center and sanctuary and
the district agreed. With grants from the state, work began
this past June. The approximately $500,000 project will
transform the peninsula, long used for a dump and overgrown
with weeds and weed trees, into a dream come true.
By mid-summer, Chicago Park District (CPD) contractors had
cleared out the central portion of the more than four-acre
peninsula to create a prairie meadow for butterflies. “The
site is healthier than we thought,” remarked Barry
Burton, director, CPD Department of Natural Resources, “but
willows and cottonwood were starting to take over, so the
project’s timing was good.”
A boardwalk will traverse a portion of the west sand dune
habitat and cross a wetland into the prairie area. A trail
system loops around the sanctuary. Some cottonwoods and
willows – good food sources for caterpillars –
have been left standing. Oaks have been planted, as well
as understory native hawthorn and American plum. The shrub
layer includes native roses and sumac to attract birds.
Button bush, cardinal flowers, and wild blue iris were planted
by the wetland for the butterflies. “We looked at this
project in the big picture, enhancing the native areas for
the insects that birds and butterflies depend on,”
said Mary Van Haaften, natural areas manager for the park
district. “The Chicago Park District is really stretching
out to improve habitat all along the lakefront.”
A Jens Jensen-style council ring will be built at the edge
of the peninsula’s point. With views of the sanctuary,
the lake, and the Chicago skyline, the ring of limestone
will invite visitors and students to gather and study, encircled
by wilderness and culture. Nature Center construction will
be scheduled when funds become available.
The park district plans to open the sanctuary at the end
of September in time to celebrate the fall bird migration.
“The sanctuary is a part of the migratory flyway so
we’re looking forward to creating a greater interest
in birding in the area,” said Polly Silberman, SSCC
Advisory Council vice president and Landscaping Committee
member. The district is also working on a stewardship program
for the sanctuary. For more information call CPD volunteer
coordinator Vera Onate at (312) 742-4775.
– Alison Carney Brown
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DUPAGE
MISSILE SITE RETURNS TO NATURE
Plows, pavement, and rockets. A small preserve in DuPage
County has contended with a lot over the years. And in helping
it to return to its beginnings, the Forest Preserve District
of DuPage County has become the proud owner of a missile
site. It is one of two parcels totaling 13.53 acres that
expand the marsh and prairie ecosystems of Fullerton Park
Forest Preserve, on the corner of Fullerton Avenue and Grace
Street, in Addison.
Fullerton Park’s story is one of endurance. Born of
an ancient outwash left by a dying glacier, for thousands
of years it was a mosaic of prairie and marsh. In 1842 surveyors
slogged through, and in their wake, farmers in the 1850s.
The prairie fires stopped. For more than a century these
same families plowed and harvested to feed a growing nation.
In 1954, the relative peace of the old prairie was shattered
when the federal government moved in, digging into the rich
soil to install three NIKE missiles, which stayed underground
for 30 years. Urbanization raced forward in the 1960s, hemming
in plants and animals, and by the mid 1970s, the wetlands
had been partially drained and were ringed by commercial
and industrial development. In 1974 and again in 1978, the
forest preserve district stepped in and purchased a total
of 154 acres.
Fragmented and oddly shaped, Fullerton Park is sliced in
two by Fullerton Avenue. It is neighbor to a string of high-tension
wires and a water pumping station. A railroad shears off
the southwestern-most corner and a large wedge of municipally
owned land bites into the main prairie. In places, the northern
property line clings to the very edge of a slough, just
a few feet from parking lots. Its marshes and creek take
in more water than they should. And until finally stopped,
motorcycle riders tore up the hill of glacial gravel known
as a kame.
Restoration on the marshes and prairie began in the 1990s
with a mitigation project. In 1991, volunteer steward Chris
Oszak tossed a handful of seeds from the adjoining railroad
right away, destined for another site, into the preserve’s
fallow field. The next year she saw a little colony of prairie
dock pushing up through the timothy and hay. It may take
five or 10 years to see conservative plants like shooting
star or prairie dropseed to mature from scattered seed.
But the preserve has time and special care.
After a decade of hard work, Fullerton Park now harbors
311 species of native plants, 65 percent of which are typical
of high quality prairie and marsh. Twenty-seven bird species
breed on the preserve. An additional 100 species migrate
through. Thirty other animal species also call it home.
The new purchase provides “more open space in a very
urbanized, industrialized section of the county where such
habitats are at a premium,” says District Plant Ecologist
Scott Kobal. “It also adds to the existing acreage
of the preserve, providing more connectivity for plants
and animals. Management is facilitated when the communities
are larger and contiguous. It gives us more control over
the local watershed, which can help us improve water quality.”
From shooting missiles to shooting stars, Fullerton Park
is moving ahead on its way back.
–
Elizabeth Riotto
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THE
VALUE OF SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN, APPROXIMATELY
The general public values healthy birds and fish along the
southern coast of Lake Michigan at between $3 and $5 billion,
according to the first study to evaluate the monetary value
of the lake to the people who live near it.
“The Natural Capital of the Southern Lake Michigan
Coastal Zone: First Steps Towards an Economic Valuation”
was recently released by the Lake Michigan Federation and
the University of Illinois at Chicago. “A clean, healthy
Lake Michigan is key to the quality of life in this region
and strongly influences Chicagoan’s decisions about
where to live and where to locate a business,” said
Cameron Davis, executive director of Lake Michigan Federation.
“For years we’ve heard about how protecting Lake
Michigan costs money and threatens jobs,” he says.
“The study shows the opposite, that there’s an
enormous economic benefit to protecting the lake ecosystem.”
The study calculated how much each household in northeast
Illinois and northwest Indiana would be willing to pay each
year – through taxes, volunteer programs, or annual
donations to a conservation group – to maintain or
preserve 13 species of birds and six species of fish.
The study estimates a total willingness to pay, per household,
for these fish and birds at approximately between $117 and
$197 per year. These figures translate to a total valuation
of between $3.19 and $5.37 billion for the southern Lake
Michigan area.
“The study does not put a price tag on Lake Michigan,
because it is priceless,” said Joel Brammeier, Lake
Michigan Federation staff scientist. “But the study
does demonstrate that citizens place a high value on the
lake and would be willing to pay a significant amount to
keep the birds and fish healthy and a part of their lives.”
The results of this study are based on previous studies
that have used the contingent valuation method (CVM). The
CVM technique surveys people to find out what they are willing
to pay to maintain or preserve an environmental resource.
The average value individuals are willing to pay for each
resource is then calculated and multiplied by the number
of households in the designated area. The CVM method is
considered a valid technique, as it was also used to determine
the value of natural resources harmed in the Exxon-Valdez
oil spill.
Researchers took many safeguards to avoid overestimating
the values of wildlife in the Lake Michigan study, making
the final economic estimate conservative. “The study
is simply meant to open the door to a broader economic benefits
discussion,” Davis explained. “It only covers
a fraction of what the lake is really worth. For example,
the lake has spiritual value that is priceless to a lot
of us who live, work, and play around Lake Michigan.”
You can read or download the study at the Lake Michigan
Federation Web site at http://www.lakemichigan.org/habitat/slmcz_report.pdf.
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| Photo:
Courtesy Streamwood Park District |
WETLAND
RECLAIMS BALL FIELDS
The water rose, the ball fields sank, and cattails marched
in where children once ran the bases at Veterans Park in
Streamwood. The 18-acre multipurpose park, converted in
1972 from an undevelopable wet lowland, once included three
ball fields and a retention pond built on clay-capped landfill.
Over time, the landfill shifted and the lowland gathered
water. Kids got muddy; games were cancelled. On a couple
of occasions park district lawn mowers had to be yanked
out of the fields with heavy equipment from 30 yards away.
This past spring, representatives from the US Army Corp
of Engineers, North Cook County Soil and Water Conser-vation
District, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the
Village of Streamwood, and Streamwood Park District met
at Veterans Park to discuss its future. Two of the ball
fields had already been decommissioned and some neighbors
expressed dismay about the weeds. The ad-hoc group agreed
that repairing or rebuilding the fields would probably prove
too costly. The idea of restoring a wetland for flood control
– a project that might simultaneously increase property
values surrounding the park and provide community educational
opportunities – seemed a sound solution and was championed
by the Poplar Creek Watershed Committee.
At the request of the Streamwood Park District (SPD) Board,
Applied Ecological Services did a study and offered plans
for a wetland restoration with boardwalk paths over the
wetland and limestone or mowed paths through the drier areas.
The SPD submitted an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development
(OSLAD) matching grant proposal this summer. “The Village
Board really sees this project as a way to get our community
together and do something that we can be really proud of,
“ says Paula Lambertz, board president. “When
someone sees a wildflower they planted bloom, it will really
connect them to their park.”
Plans also include a prescribed burn, allowing dormant natural
species to regenerate themselves, and planting a lot of
native wetland and dry mesic species. The plan assumes that
enough of the clay has sunk to allow the wetland plants
to become established. The last remaining ball field will
be converted into mesic prairie with some mounds built in
the infield to add topography. The ball field will be relocated
at a middle school across town. “Veteran’s Park
loses about five feet of field a year from cattails,”
says Rick Pyle, executive director of the park district.
“With funding and volunteers, we hope to turn these
weed fields into a beautiful site.”
The project has already captured the imagination of local
teachers. A teacher from Streamwood Elementary School adjacent
to Veterans Park called Deb Perryman, a biology teacher
at Elgin High, and asked how her students might work with
the ball field wetland. After a visit to Veterans Park,
the enthused Perryman began brainstorming a soil study,
seed germination, plug planting curriculum for her Mighty
Acorns program that would include mentoring the younger
children at Streamwood Elementary. “I hope we can develop
a school and park partnership,” said Perryman, who
also co-chairs the Poplar Creek Watershed Committee. “Maybe
we can form a Friends of Veterans Park and build a local
volunteer base,” she added. It seems the long-lost
wetland has resurfaced to find itself much appreciated.
– Alison Carney Brown
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DEAM AND SWINK:
A BOTANICAL CORRESPONDENCE
The Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund recently published
A Congenial Fellowship: A Botanical Correspondence between
Charles C. Deam and Floyd A. Swink, 1946-1951, edited
by Peg Mohar. The letters are filled with references to
collecting spots in the dunes region, plants Deam and Swink
found, discussions on ecology, questions about plant variations,
opinions of other botanists, and more. Armchair and active
botanists alike will enjoy these exchanges.
The letters also tell the story of how the lives of these
two preeminent, self-taught 20th-century botanists intersected
and the relationship that develops between the mentor who
encourages the young enthusiast. When the letters begin,
Mohas notes “Deam is a grand old man of 81, a distinguished
member of learned societies, recipient of an honorary doctorate
of laws from Indiana University and author of the still
highly regarded Flora of Indiana. Swink has yet to
experience his first professional position, his success
as taxonomist at the Morton Arboretum, and his publications,
most notably Plants of the Chicago Region (with Gerould
S. Wilhelm 4th edition), and the honorary doctorate from
Western Illinois University. Swink, in fact, is a weekend
botanist, fresh out of the navy after World War II, and
supporting his family by taking whatever jobs he can.”
Swink gave the collection of letters to the Heinze Fund
to publish and helped with the editing and footnoting of
the book up to a few days before his untimely death on August
2, 2000. For the Heinze Fund, the book is a final tribute
to a man who played a large role in the botanical lives
of several of its trustees and was a great influence on
the land preservation movement in Northwest Indiana.
A Congenial Fellowship is available from the Shirley
Heinze Environmental Fund for $18 plus shipping and handling.
Call (219) 879-4725 or visit their Web site at www.heinzefund.org.
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| Photo:
Courtesy FPD DuPage Co. |
BLOOMINGDALE
COMPANY’S EMPLOYEES HELP DUPAGE FOREST PRESERVE
The employees of NOW Natural Foods in Bloomingdale realized
they couldn’t take the East Branch Forest Preserve
that borders their corporate and manufacturing facility
for granted when they saw an overflow of cars parked on
it during a golf tournament in 1999. So, Louis Richard,
engineering manager and director of the company, approached
the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and asked
what they could do improve the preserve.
Several litter removal projects were organized over the
next couple of years with more than 25 employees and their
families participating. This year, on June 9, more than
40 NOW volunteers planted seeds and plants at Rush Lake
in the preserve. Half the group raked in 55 pounds of native
seeds with the youngsters stomping it in. Others helped
plant 300 wetland plugs on the lake’s shoreline to
help stabilize the soil, improve water quality, and provide
fish and wildlife habitat. They also put snow fencing around
the planted area so the Canada geese would not pull out
those tantalizing morsels – like blue flag, dark green
rush, great bulrush, and prairie cord grass – before
they could take root.
“After the restoration work day, employees came up
to me and said, ‘My kids don’t want to clean up
at home, but they can’t wait to get out to the forest
preserve and pick up litter and plant plants,’”
says Dan Scoles, NOW safety manager and volunteer organizer.
“Employees are donating their Saturdays to do this.
They use the forest preserves and this gives them a sense
of giving back to the community and contributing to the
health of the preserve for their kids and their kids’
kids.”
NOW Foods plans to schedule ongoing restoration workdays
and has invited neighboring businesses to participate. Contact
Maureen Spradlin at mspradlin@dupageforest.com or (630)
462-8706.
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WISCONSIN
GOVERNOR CREATES TASK FORCE ON INVASIVE SPECIES
On May 23, Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum announced the
creation of the Governor’s Task Force on Invasive Species.
The task force, co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Margaret
Farrow and Representative Dan Vrakas, will evaluate the
severity and spread of invasive species in Wisconsin, develop
a statewide control plan, and seek funding.
“I think the Governor’s Task Force has the potential
to really rally some resources around this issue,”
said Nancy Braker, task force member and director of science
and stewardship at The Nature Conservancy Wisconsin Chapter.
“It’s brought together some people who are clearly
very concerned about invasive species.”
Gov. McCallum said that invasive species disrupt the natural
ecosystem of Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers, and forests.
It’s estimated that in the United States last year,
economic losses due to invasive species and control measures
cost more than $138 billion. “It is crucial for Wisconsin
to be proactive when it comes to invasive species,”
Gov. McCallum said. “Wisconsin is very proud of its
forests and waterways. This task force presents a great
opportunity for scientists, sports enthusiasts and environmentalists
to work together to protect our precious natural resources.”
Examples of invasive species currently found in inland Wisconsin
waters include purple loosestrife, carp, Eurasian water
milfoil, and rusty crayfish. Invasive species currently
found in the Great Lakes include spiny water flea, ruffe,
zebra mussels, round goby, and white perch.
“I hope the task force will look at the broad issues
concerning aquatic and terrestrial invasive species,”
added Braker. Broad action could include recommending enactment
of revisions to the Noxious Weed Law. Spearheaded by the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Weed Law
Technical Advisory Committee drafted the revision and submitted
it to the state legislature as part of the state budget
process. A draft is posted on the Web at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/news/wltc1.htm.
The Nature Conservancy’s Weeds on the Web page tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
/common.html defines what weeds are and answers commonly
asked questions in a user-friendly format. For the restorationist,
follow the steward’s link to “weed control methods”
to download the April 4 revision of Weed Control Methods
Handbook: Tools and Techniques for Use in Natural Areas.
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FIELD
TRIP GUIDE TO LAKE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVES
Teachers and youth group leaders can get a copy of the Lake
County Forest Preserve District 2001-02 Field Trip Guide
that details the more than 55 programs offered at the preserves,
the Greenbelt Cultural Center, Independence Grove and the
Lake County Discovery Museum. Programs help meet Illinois
Learning Benchmarks or cover Scout badge requirements. Call
(847) 968-3321 or e-mail ryersonwoods@co.lake.il.us to request
a copy.
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EVENTS
THE LANDSCAPE WE MAKE
The Landscape We Make, an exhibit at the Evanston
Art Center (EAC), is guest curated by Victor M. Cassidy,
a Chicago-based writer and curator, and includes the work
of six artists who present different ways that people treat
and shape the land. Looking out the EAC’s large gallery
windows, visitors see grounds designed by Jens Jensen, a
man-made beach with planted prairie grasses, and a breakwater
slicing out into Lake Michigan. This is not the pre-settlement
appearance of the site, but the landscape that people have
shaped over the years. The Landscape We Make includes
work by Terry Evans, David Plowden, Linda Horn, Paul Clark,
Joe Llewellyn Davis, and James Iska. Terry Evan’s subject
is the prairie, America’s huge grassland, which the
settlers plowed up to create a great agricultural industry.
September 9 – October 23
Gallery hours: Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. –
4:00 p.m.
and 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Free
Information: (847) 475-5300 www.evanstonartcenter.org
TOUR MIDEWIN THIS FALL
As cooler fall weather makes outdoor activities more enjoyable,
consider taking a tour at the Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie. Throughout September and October, tours of Midewin
will be offered every weekend. Although the wildflower tours
have ended as the native plants’ flowers fade and seeds
ripen, the bird tours will increase during grassland birds’
migration south for the winter. The geology and history
tours will continue, and a Sunday hike or bike ride at Midewin
would make a great family outing.
The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie was established in
1996 and is the first national tallgrass prairie in the
country. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service,
in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
and with the support of hundreds of volunteers and partner
agencies, businesses, and organizations. As the largest
portion of the peacetime conversion of the former Joliet
Army Ammunition Plant, Midewin remains largely closed to
the public while the Army completes the cleanup of contamination
remaining from decades of TNT manufacturing and packaging.
Although public access is restricted, activities at Midewin
are gradually increasing to include interim hiking trails,
escorted tours, volunteer work projects, and deer hunting
in some areas.
Birds of the Prairie:
East Side: October 6, 13, 20 and 27, 7:30 a.m.
Prairie Creek Geology:
October 20, 9:30 a.m.
Midewin History Tour:
October 13, 9:30 a.m.
Introduction to Midewin (van tour):
East Side: October 6 and 27,
9:30 a.m.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Joliet
Fee: $2.00 per person per tour
Advance reservations (required): (815) 423-6370
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY
Tryon Farm Institute’s fourth annual Day in the Country
will feature Keith Schneider of the Michigan Land Use Institute
in a workshop on “The Politics of Smart Growth”.
The day is co-sponsored by Chicago’s Campaign for Sensible
Growth and J.F. New Associates, environmental planners.
The program includes a panel response to Schneider’s
challenge, box lunch in the old Tryon Farm dairy barn, presentation
of the Living Green awards, and architectural and environmental
tours of the new conservation community one hour from Chicago.
October 5, 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tryon Farm, Michigan City, Indiana
Fee: $30 advance registration, $40 at the door; includes
box lunch
Information: (800) 799-6433 or www.tryonfarm.com
For more events, see our calendar.
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