It's a Winner: Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan
The Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan has been selected by the American Planning Association (APA) as the winner of its 2001 Outstanding Planning Award for a Plan. The plan was honored at the APA’s National Planning Conference in New Orleans on March 13. In addition, highlights of the Biodiversity Recovery Plan will be featured in the March 2001 issue of Planning magazine.

The Biodiversity Recovery Plan is the first of its kind to be endorsed by a major planning agency. It outlines the steps needed to enrich the quality of life for residents of the Chicago Metropolitan area by protecting natural communities in the region and restoring them to long-term viability. The plan results from a three-year collaborative effort by the Chicago Wilderness coalition of 124 public and private conservation, resource management, citizen advocacy and planning groups, and thanks go to all who contributed to producing it.

"The Chicago Wilderness Region has tremendous value in its extensive biodiversity," said Bruce Knight, chair of APA’s awards jury. "The fact that this plan is being applied to a metropolitan area makes it unique, and also sets an example that many other regions can look to before it becomes too late."

"The Biodiversity Recovery Plan is designed to bring about an environment that is beneficial to both people and nature, protecting our natural heritage while the metropolis thrives," said John H. Paige, director of planning service for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

"To remain competitive in attracting and retaining businesses and residents, the region must offer a quality of life, that if possible, is even better than that of other cities," Paige said. "Safe parks and trails, beautiful forests and the presence of wildlife bring solace and inspiration to our busy lives, and this plan resolves to retain that component of the Chicago area for generations to come."

The Biodiversity Recovery Plan is available from the Chicago Wilderness Web site. To obtain a copy of the plan, call Chicago Wilderness at (708) 485-0263, ext. 396.

Supreme Court Overrules Clean Water Act Protection
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on January 9 has been described as one of the "most significant anti-environmental actions of the last 20 years." The Court ruled in favor of the proposal of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) to place a garbage dump or "balefill" in Bartlett, south of Elgin, Illinois.

The proposed balefill site includes abandoned gravel pits, woods, and 17.6 acres of wetlands that are presently habitat for migratory birds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had denied SWANCC’s permit, citing its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

The Clean Water Act provides the strongest habitat protection of any federal statute – considerably more than the Endangered Species Act. The 5-4 Supreme Court decision, written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, removed protection nationwide from "isolated" wetlands, which include the principal habitats for many amphibians and most of the prairie pothole region, an area crucial for a large portion of the continent’s waterfowl. According to Jean Sellar of the Army Corps of Engineers, such areas provide 50 percent greater water storage than the floodplain wetlands, which remain protected.

The U.S. Congress, or state governments, or county or municipal governments, can pass their own legislation to specifically protect isolated wetlands. DuPage County, for example, already has done so. Mike Staggs, director of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources commented in the February issue of The DNR News & Outdoor Report that the ruling removed regulatory protection from as much as 80 percent of Wisconsin’s wetlands. Wisconsin recently approved protective legislation in their state senate.

Meanwhile, in Bartlett, the Supreme Court has paved the way to proceed. The non-navigable waters of the balefill site will be filled in and the great blue herons, wood ducks, Cooper’s hawks, great horned owls, and horned larks, to name a few species that nest there, will be without a home.

Chicago Wilderness Collaborates with Brazil
At a press conference in Curitiba, Brazil last December, representatives from Chicago Wilderness and its Brazilian counterpart, Condominio da Biodiversidade, signed a Memorandum of Understanding formally declaring their commitment to long-term scientific collaboration and exchange.

Through joint projects and research agendas, this unusual international partnership hopes to establish strategies that lead to the protection of endangered natural communities on both continents. The progressive and prospering city of Curitiba lies in the transition zone of two extremely diverse and highly endangered natural communities — the Araucaria pine forest and the Serra do Mar tropical evergreen forest; while Chicago, of course, is on the border between the imperiled tallgrass prairies and oak woodlands.

"Both cities share similar challenges, and must work toward balancing population growth with ecological awareness," says Debby Moskovits, director of Environment and Conservation Programs at the Field Museum. "There are many things that Chicago Wilderness can learn from the Curitiba coalition, and we’re also looking forward to sharing our experiences with them." — Gian Galassi

NASA Study Involving CW Wins Prize
On Oct 24, 2000, Dr. Yeqiao Wang received a major presidential award for his Chicago Wilderness research in using information from satellite images to reveal connections between urban sprawl and the natural world. Recommended for the award by NASA, Dr. Wang was one of 59 young researchers to receive the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Wang’s research is part of the NASA Earth Science Enterprise program, which seeks to use the vantage point of space to understand the Earth, particularly the impacts of human actions on the planet.

Dr. Wang led the efforts that used satellite images to develop vegetation maps for the Chicago Wilderness region and to analyze changes in our land cover over the past 25 years.

Calumet Sustainable Growth Committee Forms
Four civic leaders recently accepted the invitation of Governor Ryan and Mayor Daley to head the newly formed Calumet Sustainable Growth Advisory Committee. Two of the four – John McCarter, President of the Field Museum, and Bill Kurtis of Kurtis Productions – are long-time Chicago Wilderness leaders. The others are Robert Darnall, former CEO of Inland Steel, and Sheli Rosenberg of Equity Group Investments. The committee will advise the city and state on a variety of projects and sustainable development goals previously identified in the Calumet Area Land Use Plan (CW, Fall 2000). The plan includes rehabilitating key habitat areas and restoring water connections through a Calumet Open Space Reserve. The area is home to species such as the state-endangered black-crowned night heron, the yellow headed blackbird, and prickly pear cactus.

The full Advisory Committee, whose members represent local residents and industry, elected leaders, environmental interests, and government agencies, will also work with Chicago’s Environmental Fund to seek private investments for a new environmental center in the Calumet region, to acquire and clean up a site, build the center, and create programming. The Fund was recently given $6 million from the Ford Motor Company for the new environmental center.

Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Heroes
"When I moved to the Chicago area, I didn’t even know how to spell prairie," says Marianne Hahn. But on November 30, 2000, the U.S. Forest Service recognized Hahn as prairie Volunteer of the Year. "I was a woods and water person from Michigan," said Hahn, who’s now President of the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance and member of the Army’s Restoration Advisory Board. Soon after moving here, she volunteered to raise funds door-to-door to save 4.2 acres of prairie for the Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve. "People would ask me questions I didn’t know the answers to. I’d go home, look them up, and go back the next day with answers. The nature preserve project was so well received, I volunteered to canvas four more blocks." Hahn later became volunteer steward of the Homewood Prairie, which now encompasses 17 acres.

Hahn, was recognized by the Forest Service for "outstanding public service toward accomplishing the establishment and restoration of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie." Hahn and Joyce O’Keefe, associate director of programs at the Openlands Project, organized the alliance of more than 40 conservation and environmental organizations whose work led to the Illinois Land Conservation Act, signed five years ago creating the 19,000-acre Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on the site of the decommissioned Joliet Arsenal.

Also recognized by the Forest Service was Bill Glass, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Heritage Biologist and occasional contributor to this magazine (see Wild Ginger profile in this issue) for his professional contributions to restoration at Midewin. "We’ve discovered state-listed plants we didn’t realize were here at Midewin," Glass says. "Henslow’s sparrows are on the increase, and least bitterns and moorhens are nesting here now. We’re learning a lot about restoration on a large scale and that is going to help natural communities across the country."

For information on tours and volunteer opportunities, check the Midewin Web site at www.fs.fed.us/mntp or call (815) 423-6370.

Cost-Share Funds for Private Lands Habitat Restoration
This year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced the Habitat Restoration Program for the Fox River and Kishwaukee River watersheds. The program is a locally led cost-share program that provides financial and technical assistance for improving and restoring habitat on private lands in priority areas.

All landowners within McHenry, Kane, DeKalb, Boone, and the western part of Lake and North Cook County (except state and federal agencies) are eligible to apply for cost-share funds. The program will provide cost-share payments for all eligible practices at a rate of 75 percent. Eligible practices include nesting structures, shoreline restoration, drain tile removal, native prairie grass establishment, drain tile flow control valve installation, livestock exclusion, beaver dam bypass, gully restoration, installation of lunker structures, weed control by controlled burn, and creation of shallow open water areas for wildlife.

The next project proposal deadline is August 15. Contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District to obtain an application.

Vote Yes for Green Acres in McHenry County
McHenry County residents can support truth and beauty on April 3 by voting YES for the District’s $68.5 million open space bond referendum. The Conservation District’s holdings are now more than 13,000 acres, or 3.5 percent of total McHenry County land area. (The older Cook County district owns more than 11 percent.) McHenry’s goal is to preserve 20,000 acres by 2002. Ten percent of the funds will be designated for site improvements, including restoration projects. Bond approval will cost the owner of a home with a market value of $150,000 less than $30 a year.

Last year the McHenry County Conservation District acquired an additional 773 acres of open space, including three parcels contiguous to Glacial Park, bringing that preserve to well over 3,000 acres. Other new parcels buffer Bystricky Prairie, protect a population of white lady’s slipper orchids, and secure sandhill crane nesting grounds in the headwaters of Nippersink Creek.

McHenry County Conservation District is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on April 6. "We’ve done very well in the areas of preservation, education, and recreation," says Tom McCarthy, manager of land and facilities, looking back on his 25 years with the District. "The citizens realize this and give us a lot of support. This is the fastest growing county in the state and people know how important it is to preserve valuable open space before it’s all gone." — Gerald Tang

State Buys Buffer to Protect Wolf Road Prairie
In January, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) acquired 16 acres of critical buffer lands to Wolf Road Prairie in Cook County’s suburban Westchester, considered one of the largest and highest quality black soil prairies remaining in Illinois. The state paid $4.5 million for the property with Open Land Trust and Natural Areas Acquisition funds. The acquisition increases the size of the protected area to about 104 acres, approximately 80 of which are dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve and buffer to the preserve.

Wolf Road Prairie contains several natural communities, including mesic prairie, marsh, and savanna, and harbors more than 400 plant species. The prairie was subdivided into nearly 600 lots for housing and commercial development in the 1920s, but the project failed during the Great Depression. Little by little parcels have been acquired and cared for, first by the volunteer Save the Prairie Society (STPS), and eventually by IDNR and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

The newly acquired 16-acre buffer parcel is on the prairie’s western edge and further protects the watershed. It was the proposed location for high density development including a magnet school not supported by many residents of Proviso Township. "The state moved quickly and brilliantly to acquire this property," said Valerie Spale, executive director of STPS. "It took incredible support from a great many people including Governor Ryan, IDNR Director Brent Manning, Senator Thomas J. Walsh, and long-time Wolf Road Prairie advocate State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka."

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is now pursuing the purchase of another Wolf Road Prairie buffer parcel currently proposed for a senior housing complex. The parcel is contiguous to the new IDNR acquisition and contains a substantial portion of the historic oak and hickory grove dating back to pre-settlement times located on the bufferlands. For more information on Wolf Road Prairie, visit the Save the Prairie Society Web site.

Environmental Literacy Plan
On the morning of September 10, delegates to the Illinois Conservation Congress voted unanimously to recommend Environmental Literacy for Illinois (EL for IL) as the Congress’s highest education priority. This recommendation is very significant because it is the first strategic plan for environmental education adopted by Illinois. Thanks go to many Chicago Wilderness individuals and organizations that helped make this happen. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will implement the plan.

Melvern C. Hoff, 1921 - 2001
Mel Hoff, longtime volunteer steward of West Chicago Prairie, died in January at age 80. He collapsed while cross-country skiing in a forest preserve.

"I was one of the odd-jobs volunteers for him," writes Margrit Nitz. "Mel worked for Amoco Chemicals Corporation for 36 years and had a Ph.D. in chemistry and 25 patents, not to mention the tools he invented for use in the prairie.

"An avid birdwatcher, Mel was also well versed in prairie and savanna flora and fauna. He’s the only person I could call at eight in the morning with an identification question for a turtle or butterfly, who would say, ‘hold on a minute. I’ll get my books.’ He encouraged me to collect wild petunia seeds, it’s not his fault I chose a day that was 100° (with 1,000 percent humidity and no breeze) to bag them. I sloughed with him through a foot of water amongst the tussock sedges in the pouring rain, all the while accusing him of trying to drown me. He identified the cool bird that I saw as a greenwinged teal. Both he and his wife Jean loved to give tours of their yard. It is a beautiful, natural landscaped yard, especially showy in the spring, with numerous twinleaf, white and red baneberry, and merrybells, just to name a few."

"Mel was organized, curious, tenacious, fun, and had boundless energy...He was the grandfather I never had. I miss him already."

Middlefork Savanna Expands
On December 19, the Lake County Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners approved a new land buy that protects 55 acres adjacent to Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve near Lake Forest. The $2.4 million purchase brings the Preserve’s acreage to 576, and expands Lake County Forest Preserves (LCFP) total holdings to 22,245 acres. "The 55-acre parcel provides safe harbor for endangered species and several exceptional wetlands that feed into the Chicago River and Middlefork Savanna," says Al Westerman, LCFP president.

Middlefork Savanna features a mix of oak savanna and woodlands, wet and mesic prairie, sedge meadows and marsh wetlands. Over 25 of the savanna’s 576 acres are considered the highest quality tallgrass savanna of its kind in the nation and a globally threatened ecosystem. Recent land management efforts have restored more than 50 additional acres to their original savanna state.

The new 55-acre acquisition expends the remaining land acquisition funds from the LCFP April 1999 referendum, and marks the first purchase made using funds from the November 2000 referendum, overwhelming approved by 67 percent of the voters. The cost of the new land buy is offset by a $200,000 grant received from the Corporation for Open Lands (CorLands), a division of the Chicago-based Openlands Project.

Sanctuary at Meigs Field
"What’s good for fish and wildlife is good for people," says Denise Marx, co-chair of the Lake Michigan Federation’s Lakefront Task Force, explaining the group’s proposed plan for converting the 91-acre Meigs Field into a lakefront nature preserve after the planned 2002 airport closing. The plan includes reintroducing the native plants, wetlands, prairies, dune ridges, and woodlands that originally existed along the lakefront. The Federation presented "A Vision for Sanctuary Point" to the Chicago Park District on February 5. Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley promptly praised the volunteer-produced plan that same day.

Visitors to Sanctuary Point, the Federation’s proposed name for the peninsula, would be able to view the wetlands on suspended boardwalks. Small harbors would allow children and adults to snorkel and view Lake Michigan fish, mussels, and other aquatic organisms. "Bringing waterfront nature back to this exact spot — Sanctuary Point — makes perfect sense," says Cameron Davis, the Federation’s executive director, "because it gives children and adults the opportunity to extend the reach of the Museum Campus [the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium]."

Sanctuary Point would also provide much-needed habitat for some of the more than five million songbirds that navigate the shores of Lake Michigan annually. To view high-resolution drawings of the Sanctuary Point plan, check out the Lake Michigan Federation Web site. — Joseph J. Ruzich

Good-Neighbor Gardens
Conservationists are learning that the best way to manage our water resource is to retain water as close as possible to where it falls, providing ways for it to soak into the soil. That’s the way our water regime evolved – most water entered the streams and wetlands slowly through the soils between storms rather than rapidly during storms. The Des Plaines Watershed Team is working to promote the use of small individual or neighborhood projects such as "good-neighbor" gardens to demonstrate the beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness of native landscapes in retaining and storing water.

At Cumberland Elementary School in Des Plaines about one acre of a playground sits in a slight depression. Following heavy rainstorms, a small lake forms where children walk to school. There were always lots of wet feet and concerned parents and teachers. Attempts by the city to drain the area were futile. In 1999, the Watershed Team became aware of the problem and held discussions with Principal Christine Schumacher, teachers, students, parents, and neighbors about converting the nuisance into a resource by planting native seeds. On the last day of school in May, dozens of students and friends of Cumberland turned out to plant a prairie. A storm moved in as work was winding up and a half-hour later the area was knee deep in water!

That summer and fall, the prairie set seed while the weeds grew and last year the native plants took firm hold and outgrew the weeds. The closest neighbor, former Alderman Nick Chiropolos, doesn’t mind the tall grass near his garden. Nick is a volunteer at nearby Kloempken Prairie. He and Ken Schaefer, who has nurtured expansive native plantings at Kloempken Prairie for years, arrived at the school with a bushel basket of seeds from Kloempken and continue to serve as unofficial best friends of the prairie. The seeds collected at Cumberland Prairie last fall will be donated to Kloempken, The Grove in Glenview, and Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie.

"This is our own piece of history, for us to appreciate and enjoy today," says Terry Clark, one of the many teachers at Cumberland whose students monitor the progress of the prairie. "The students are learning about natural communities first-hand," Clark added. "So many gold and purple finches, as well as red-winged black birds have been attracted to the new plants." The School received a $500 award for the project from the North Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District that was used for signs and potting supplies. Everything else was provided by nature and neighbors.

Is there a drainage problem in your neighborhood that has defied solution? Call the Des Plaines Watershed Team at (773) 960-5429. Maybe you can demonstrate how the best neighbors get the best things done in Chicago Wilderness! — Bill Eyring

Going to Seed — Cheaply
How many seeds are there in 850 pounds? Well, whatever the number, that is how many seeds McHenry County Conservation District workers and volunteers collected last summer and fall from 55 native flower and grass species at District nurseries and restoration areas. Plant Propagationist Beth Jarvis is busy screening the seeds in the crowded shed where she laughingly says she spent her winter. "What we’re doing is preserving the biological heritage of McHenry County," she adds, "and that is important."

It is very difficult to find seeds needed for woodland, wetland, and prairie restoration projects, especially the local ecotypes that make the most sense for conservation purposes. The seeds gathered last year would cost $39,000 on the open market. And those wouldn’t have been the local ecotype. 2000 was the 14th year of the county’s seed production program. — Gerald Tang

Corporate Campuses Go Native
In a new collaboration supported by Chicago Wilderness and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Openlands Project has teamed up with the Delta Institute to encourage native landscaping on corporate campuses. The Delta Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving environmental quality and promoting community and economic development, is recruiting corporations to participate in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Counts campaign, which recognizes natural landscaping as one of several ways corporations can reduce air pollution. "The Clean Air Counts campaign will direct corporations to us. We hope to select several corporations for pilot natural landscaping projects and provide outreach and technical assistance to them," says Jerry Adelmann of Openlands.

Lawnmowers emit 60 tons per day of volatile organic compounds, a principle ozone precursor. "Those 60 tons, combined with other consumer products such as hair spray and household cleaners (which produce an additional 66 tons per day) come close to equaling the daily industrial emissions of 136 tons. That’s a wow factor, to me, that makes one think twice about all those lush, green lawns," says Openlands landscape designer Julia Plumb. For more information about the Corporate Lands Program, contact Julia at (312) 427-4256, ext. 234. — April Anderson

Landscaping Naturally for Companies and Organizations
The Metropolitan Natural Landscaping Initiative, a new project funded by Chicago Wilderness and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, is extending a hand to local governments, corporations, and other large landowners to encourage the use of natural landscaping. "It’s a key strategy for engaging property owners in order to fundamentally change the way we manage our landscape," says project team member Richard Mariner, director of conservation programs for Chicago Academy of Sciences.

"We are trying to build on the successes of Sears, Lucent Technologies, and Tellabs," adds Dennis Dreher, "and get other corporate campuses to convert some areas to native landscape in the context of improved environment, enhanced corporate image, saving money and being a better neighbor in the community." Dreher edited Preserving Nature in Your Community, available through the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

As part of the Metropolitan Natural Landscaping Initiative, The Chicago Academy of Sciences has produced a new video titled "Landscaping Naturally" specifically geared for corporate and local government audiences. Copies will be available this spring by calling Richard Mariner at (312) 886-6088. Another resource, NIPC’s "The Natural Landscaping Tool Kit" includes a guidebook, and poster that can be ordered by calling the NIPC publications department at (312) 454-0400. A companion set of slides can be obtained through NIPC’s Planning Services Department at the same number. — April Anderson

Fire Management Officer for Indiana Dunes
The following job advertisement caught our eye: "Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore – The park has a GS-401-9/11/12 fire management officer position open until February 6th. The park has from 40 to 120 wildfires a year, performs six to ten prescribed burns a year, and has a fire effects monitoring team. There is a significant urban interface component to the job, and a federally endangered butterfly and numerous rare plants must be considered in fire operations. The announcement states that the applicant must qualify as a burn boss within 12 months of being hired. For information contact Bob Daum, chief of resource management, at (219) 926-7561 ext. 340."

We thought this job description was classic Chicago Wilderness, so we called Bob to get more specifics. Major duties for a GS-401-9/11/12 fire management officer include, "Plans and directs surveys for the collection, analysis, and documentation of data relating to fire effects on biotic and abiotic resources. Together with resource managers, analyzes these data to determine whether the prescribed burning program is meeting long term goals and objectives for fuels management and ecosystem health." Supervisory duties include the, "Ability to integrate fire science knowledge with pertinent natural and cultural resources programs."

In case you were thinking of applying, this fire management officer position has probably been filled since we went to press, but Bob needs yet more help. Another six fire team positions have been created for IDNL; a total of 3,500 new fire management jobs have been added across the country — a good example of what it takes for nature to thrive. For more information visit the National Park Service's FireNet.

New Sierra Club Chapter in the Suburbs
"Here in northwest Cook County, many of our neighbors are interested in outdoor activities and concerned about disappearing natural areas, air and water pollution, and poorly planned development," says Eric Patterson, a local high school teacher and one of a group of leaders of the new Sierra Club Northwest Cook County Group (SCNCCG). The group will offer opportunities to explore the outdoors, learn about the environment, and get involved in protecting natural areas.

The group will hold public meetings the second Thursday of every month. More than 70 people attended the first meeting in February. Jennifer Johnson, global warming issues coordinator for the Sierra Club Midwest Regional Office, will speak on global warming at the April 12 meeting, and Jennifer Hensley, grassroots organizer from the Illinois Chapter office, will talk about opportunities for environmental activism on May 10. Meetings are held at Hoffman Estates High School. Contact Eric at (847) 490-0360 or eepatt@home.com for more information.

Habitat Project Volunteers Collect Plant Data
An expert frog monitor needs to be able to identify the 12 species that live in this region — by ear. An expert plant monitor needs to identify many hundreds of species. Even a single woodland or prairie may have more than 200 plant species. Yet the challenge is taken up each summer as intrepid "botanizers" — beginners and experts — gather the data crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems.

This past summer, volunteer monitors collected intensive plant data at Poplar Creek Forest Preserve in Cook County, Grigsby and Berkeley Prairies in Lake County, and other sites. Vegetation data is collected for many purposes, but this group had a specific set of questions in mind.

For a reliable estimate of such measures as species richness and floristic quality, monitors found that they didn’t really need all that many samples on most restorations and old fields. Data from Berkeley Prairie showed that monitors only needed 18 quadrats randomly placed to achieve a statistically accurate picture of the site’s quality. The sampling also determined that, for our purposes, 1/4 meter square quadrats were the most efficient.

Project monitors also confirmed that the few restoration sites that contain prairie birds appear to have a lot of cool season exotic grasses mixed in with the native forbs and grasses. Grigsby Prairie and Poplar Creek both contained large amounts of Kentucky blue grass, meadow fescue, and other non-native grasses.

With just a handful of volunteers and a few days worth of work, botanists were able to characterize five large sites and begin to examine how grassland birds interact with the vegetation.

In 2001, the Habitat Project, which organizes volunteers, hopes to monitor many more sites with an expanded group. If you can identify most prairie and woodland plants, please volunteer to join the advanced monitoring group. If you’d like to build up some plant ID skills, consider joining the training field trips that will be scheduled throughout the Chicago Wilderness area throughout the late spring and summer. Call the Habitat Project hotline at (847) 965-9239 for information about upcoming events. — Christopher Wren and Rickie White

Midewin Volunteers Learn to ID Tadpoles
Volunteer amphibians and reptile monitors at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie got a crash-course in identifying larval salamanders and frogs ("tadpoles") last spring. For most amphibians, aquatic larvae represent the most vulnerable stage in their life-cycles. However, adults of some species are very secretive, and their larvae (usually present in breeding ponds for periods ranging from weeks to months) may also represent the most easily surveyed stage.

One problem with surveying amphibian larvae is that they can be difficult to identify in the field. While several excellent keys to amphibian larvae exist, they rely heavily on mouth-parts and other small structures that are impractical for field use. Only recently have amphibian biologists begun widespread use of more easily observed external characteristics such as color or shape for quick field identification of larvae. The Midewin guide uses color photographs coupled with concise lists of key characteristics to identify larvae.

The year 2000 was the second in which Midewin volunteers received training in amphibian and reptile identification, and survey methods. They successfully used the new guides to identify six of the eight amphibian species known from the grounds of the former Joliet Arsenal. The Midewin larval guide could serve as a prototype for expanded guides that could be distributed to volunteer monitors through Chicago Wilderness or partner organizations. —Mike Redmer

Honor Thy Editor
On March 9, the Chicago Audubon Society honored Debra Shore, editor of Chicago WILDERNESS, for excellence in environmental reporting. Debra has been editor since the premier issue took our breath away in November 1997. The magazine has now grown to a circulation of 8,500 subscribers. Debra says the magazine is well received mostly because a first time reader is so surprised by the photos – the incredible natural beauty found in our metropolitan environment. (The New Yorker doesn’t look like this!) In the opinion of the news editor, the images are indeed a part of it; the other part is content and presentation (and restoration, protection, and management).

New Hamill Family Play Zoo
On June 14, the Brookfield Zoo will celebrate the official opening of the Hamill Family Play Zoo where young children and their families interact with animals, plants, and people to help develop caring attitudes toward the natural world. Guests at the Play Zoo will be able to touch animals, build animal habitats, paint murals, examine animal x-rays, plant gardens, dress up as a bird and other critters, discover insects, and much more!

While at the Play Zoo, visit the new Eco Café opening on Earth Day April 22. The café will serve a variety of organic and all-natural snacks and guests can discover how the choices they make about the foods they eat can have an impact on the environment! For more information call (708) 485-0263 or visit www.brookfieldzoo.org.