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Summer
2000
The
City of Chicago and the US Fish and Wildlife Service take
action to protect the large number of migratory birds passing
through the Chicago area
by Judy Pollock
In
late March, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal
agency charged with ensuring the health of migrating birds,
plunked down $100,000, and the City of Chicago has budgeted
much more, as they signed a treaty pledging their cooperation
in developing programs and policies that will help birds.
Chicago
is "the O'Hare of migratory birds," said US Fish
and Wildlife Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. Lakefront
and inland parks and preserves provide vital sustenance
for literally millions of hungry birds heading north to
their summer breeding grounds. The vast expanse of the Lake
to the east and of agricultural land to the south and west
provide little food and few safe rest stops for migrating
birds. Exhausted from flying all night, these birds —
hundreds of different species — find a lifeline in
the greenery of Chicago’s parks and preserves.
Chicago
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Jamie Rappaport, director of
the US Fish and Wildlife Service, signed a new "Treaty
for Birds." A peregrine falcon, official city bird,
also attended. Photo by Stephen Packard.
"The
key to quality of life in the city is our parks, open spaces,
and wildlife," Mayor Daley said. "To preserve
and enhance nature right here in the city — this is
the commitment we make as adults for another generation.
We’re trying to educate people about restoration so
we can allow nature to be preserved in an urban area."
Features
of the treaty:
- The
Chicago Park District, in partnership with various
community groups, will be improving bird habitat at four
major lakefront stopovers — Montrose Point, the Addison
Street Bird Sanctuary, Jackson Park, and the promontory
near the South Shore Cultural Center — and perhaps
a fifth stopover south of McCormick Place.
- The
Department of the Environment is involved in an
ambitious land acquisition and comprehensive planning
process for a greener Lake Calumet area, including a proposed
new nature center.
- Partners
such as The Field Museum, The Nature Museum, Audubon,
Chicago’s Department of Planning, Friends of the
Parks, the Bird Conservation Network (BCN),
and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are identifying
the city’s most important bird areas, formulating
policy recommendations for park management, field testing
various tree and shrub species, producing educational
materials for Chicago’s citizens, and involving them
in bird habitat stewardship.
- The
city’s downtown buildings are turning out their lights
during migration (see Lights
Out for Birds).
- The
Chicago Audubon Society, the Fort Dearborn Audubon
Society, and Chicago Ornithological Society,
as well as the BCN, are holding walks, bike rides, boat
rides, poetry slams, classes, bird counts, birdathons,
and all manner of inventive programming to celebrate and
publicize our abundant local bird life.
Here’s
how you can help:
- Keep
cats indoors during spring and fall migration (mid-March
through the end of May and late August through early November).
- Create
plantings that feed and shelter birds in your yard or
local park using these principles:
- Create
multi-layered areas with trees, shrubs, and ground
covers.
- Use
a wide variety of plants, especially natives. Include
plants that bear seeds, and fall and winter berries,
and that provide nectar in the warm seasons.
- Leave
seed-bearing plants standing over the winter, leaves
under the shrubs and trees, and make compost heaps
and brush piles.
- Avoid
using insecticides.
- If
you work in a tall building, talk with your building manager
about turning off the building’s lights at night
during migration season.
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2008 Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Inc.
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