News

Whooping Cranes Endorse Habitat

This April, Chicago Wilderness served as bed-and-breakfast for not one or two but 14 whooping cranes traveling together from the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Refuge in Florida to their breeding grounds in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, located in the Great Central Wisconsin Swamp.

The cranes stopped at East Branch Forest Preserve near Glendale Heights in north-central DuPage County. They headed north again a few days later, but when they met up with strong winds out of the north, they sought refuge in Lost Valley Marsh, part of Glacial Park in McHenry County.

Both East Branch (managed by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County) and Glacial Park (managed by the McHenry County Conservation District, or MCCD) have received restoration attention from land managers.

“The arrival of the whooping cranes...is the fulfillment of a promise the district made in 1994 when it began its program of wetland restoration,” said MCCD natural resources manager Ed Collins. The marsh where the cranes rested owes its existence to a successful 70-acre habitat restoration project completed by the district in the 1990s.

Most times a whooping crane lands along its migration route, it’s an endorsement of the habitat. Congratulations to all who were “whooped.”

— Don Parker

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