Grand News
Last August, Bill Hartwig, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, authorized the Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. As proposed, the Refuge will one day include 30,000 acres scattered within the 3.3-million-acre watershed of the Kankakee River in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois. Once one of the largest inland marshes in America, this area provides habitat for two federally endangered species (Indiana bat and Mitchell's Satyr butterfly) and over 200 state-listed species.

"The Kankakee River Basin is a remarkably rich area, and we plan to protect and restore examples of its fine wetlands, oak savannas, and tallgrass prairies," said John Rogner, field supervisor for the Chicago field office of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We also hope to acquire floodplain areas that can be restored to wetlands, in order to expand this valuable habitat," he said. The stated goals of the refuge are to preserve, restore, and enhance all endangered or threatened species; restore and preserve a natural diversity and abundance of flora and fauna; protect migratory birds; provide the public with additional high-quality, wildlife-compatible public use and environmental education opportunities. Land acquisition will be funded by allocations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. — Elizabeth Sanders

Forest Preserves For Sale?
In June, the Board of Commissioners of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County voted to sell a 2.36-acre parcel of land along the Des Plaines River to the Village of Rosemont to expand its convention center. Board President John Stroger promised to use the proceeds of the sale to buy a larger parcel. He argued that the state's tax cap legislation prevents the District from raising acquisition funds. But John Sheerin, speaking for Friends of the Forest Preserve, pointed out that the region's other Forest Preserves have been raising hundreds of millions of dollars through referenda approved by voters.

Conservationists fought to stop the deal, arguing that this land was acquired by the District to remain protected for future generations and that, since the parcel was not 'surplus', its sale would establish a dangerous precedent for the District. Surplus land, as determined by the District's Advisory Committee, is land with no ecological or recreational value, often because it is a small, isolated piece of land.

The Advisory Committee voted that this parcel was not surplus as it includes forest and wildlife habitat. Alan Anderson of the Chicago Audubon Society says, "It sure seems to be a woodpecker haven, with many trees along the river and inland providing nesting and feeding habitat." In his visits, Anderson has also observed eastern phoebe, spotted and solitary sandpipers, black-crowned night-herons, great-crested flycatcher, Baltimore oriole, and non-avian residents from dragonflies and damselflies to a 12-inch female soft shelled turtle.

Many Commissioners sought to assure County residents that this sale would not by itself lead to others. Commissioners Cal Sutker, William Moran, Greg Goslin, and Mike Quigley, however, opposed the sale of land. Commissioner Moran, for instance, listed his reasons for voting against the sale: "I voted no because I believe that this sale would set a bad precedent for the future of our Forest Preserve lands. Our goal should be to acquire more land, and not to sell the existing, which has not been declared surplus. Even though the money from the sale is to be used for the procurement of future lands, it's the principle of selling non-surplus lands which I believe is far more important to the future of our Forest Preserves." — Bill Eyring

Grass on a Cool Green Roof
Native peoples called it "chi-ca-gua." Soon the nodding wild onion, Chicago's namesake, will be growing literally on top of City Hall. It and many other native plants will compose the newest architectural innovation in Chicago: a "green roof." It's all part of US EPA's Urban Heat Island Pilot Project to test ways to cool cities in the summer.

"Dark-roofed buildings and dark pavement absorb the sun's rays, warming the city by as much as 4° to 6° F," said William Abolt, Commissioner of the Department of Environment. "The City Hall garden will indicate how effective rooftop gardens may be in reducing urban temperatures," said Virginia Gorsevski, program analyst with the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

"Mayor Daley was impressed by the beauty and efficiency of the rooftop gardens he saw during a recent visit to Hamburg, Germany," said Abolt , "and he wanted to try something similar here." The 20,300 square foot, $750,000 rooftop garden will be paid for by part of a $25 million-a-year, four-year commitment to conservation programs by Commonwealth Edison Co., the city's major power company. — Elizabeth Sanders

Headwaters of the Chicago River Protected
In October, after more than a year of negotiations, the Village of Lincolnshire purchased 63 acres that include the headwaters of the West Fork of the Chicago River, provide a connection to Florsheim Park, and harbor a small population of a state-threatened plant species known as marsh speedwell. The original park contains high quality prairie and oak woods (with a floristic quality index of 82, indicating the presence of highly diverse and conservative plant species). It is a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve.

The newly acquired parcel is bordered by Everett and Riverwoods Roads and I-94. The headwaters of the Chicago River, located on the eastern portion, contains hickories, oaks, and musclewood and is high quality oak forest, though invaded by buckthorn and in need of restoration. The Village, with help from Friends of the Chicago River and Lake County Storm-water Management Commission, hopes to secure funding to restore the headwaters and surrounding watershed. Village of Lincolnshire restoration projects are underway at Rivershire, Spring Lake, Balzer, and Florsheim Parks. The Village schedules work parties every Friday at alternating sites; anyone interested should contact Lydia Scott, assistant to the director of Public Works, at (847) 883-8600. — Kathy Kowal

Peregrine Falcon Defeats Nighthawk
The peregrine falcon edged out the cedar waxwing and four other candidates to become Chicago's first-ever Official City Bird. The Official Bird election was the brainchild of Chicago Audubon's Terri Likens, who had learned of a similar program in Portland, Oregon and thought it would be a great way to raise public awareness of bird species in Chicago. The Chicago Department of Environment provided funding for ballots and campaign posters. Ballots were cast in genuine Board of Election voting booths October 16-22 at area parks, schools, museums, and cultural centers as part of Nature Week in Chicago.

Other candidates on the ballot were (in order of votes received): the cedar waxwing, the common nighthawk, the eastern kingbird, the belted kingfisher, and the black-crowned night heron. More than 24,000 ballots were cast. The peregrine will serve a four-year term as the ambassador of Chicago's habitat areas, then will face its first re-election challenge. — Mark Sheehy

Grainger Woods Grows
On September 17 the Lake County Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of a 34-acre parcel adjacent to Grainger Woods. The new land purchase protects environmentally sensitive wetlands, a sedge meadow and wet-mesic prairie, and brings the Preserve's total acreage to 291. "This purchase provides further protection for a rare northern flatwoods forest and seven endangered species found at Grainger Woods," said Board President Carol Calabresa.

In 1996, the Grainger Corporation donated 257 acres to the Lake County Forest Preserves. This constituted the largest single land donation in the Forest Preserves' history and is part of Grainger's unique conservation development plan for its new 515-acre corporate headquarters. Grainger Woods Conservation Preserve is located on St. Mary's Road and Route 60, just west of I-294 near Mettawa. For a free set of trail maps and a copy of the Forest Preserves' free Horizons newsletter, call (847) 367-6640.

A Victory Over Sprawl
"It was a remarkable coming together of people and organizations that saved Camp Red Mill," said LaPorte County (IN) Parks Foundation President Jim Jessup. The local Girl Scout Council announced in September 1998 that it wanted to sell the 160-acre property for $325,000. "We had no money and no plans for acquiring it. It seemed an impossible dream to put together so much money in time to save the land from developers keenly interested in the property's potential both for upscale housing and peat mining," said Jessup. By last July, however, all the pieces had been assembled, and a deal for the land's purchase was closed.

"Camp Red Mill is a significant natural area," said Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) ecologist Tom Post. "The many springs and seeps on the property form the headwaters of the Little Calumet River, and the property's wet woodlands harbor several rare plants, including rough sedge and American golden saxifrage."

The Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, as administrator of a grant awarded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, facilitated the commitment of $65,000 in federal funds for the project and donated $2,500 of its own. When the Indiana DNR agreed to accept 107 acres as a state nature preserve, the Indiana Heritage Trust — a state agency that finances land preservation through the sale of environmental license plates — contributed $160,000. The Northern Indiana Public Service Company also gave $50,000. Local donations totaling $50,000 from scores of individuals and organizations were matched by an additional $50,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, through LaPorte County's Unity Foundation.

The property will eventually become a LaPorte County Park, and plans are already underway to renovate existing structures for use in environmental education programs. The bulk of the property, however, will remain a natural area. "Future generations will be able to enjoy and learn about nature in this beautiful setting," says Heinze Fund executive director Paul Kohlhoff, "only because concerned local citizens were able to forge a partnership with government and business for the general good of the public. — Ronald Trigg

Nature Week
The city of Chicago celebrated its first-ever Nature Week from October 16-23, bringing people of all ages closer to nature by engaging them in a variety of activities. Mayor Richard M. Daley launched a new initiative called Nature Chicago to coordinate the resources of all the city's nature-related organizations, institutions and government departments to foster a unified awareness and stewardship of nature in Chicago through conservation, planning, and education. This initiative seeks to provide natural areas and nature programs in neighborhoods; enhance habitat, water quality, and recreational use of Chicago's waterways; improve the city's "green" infrastructure such as bike trails; and encourage conservation-minded design and development.

In after-school programs during Nature Week, children made leaf rubbings, searched for bugs, and learned about nature in their neighborhood. "I know there is lots of nature in my neighborhood, and I think it would be ugly without it," said one youngster. Thirty environmental organizations and institutions set up displays in Daley Plaza for a Nature Festival, attracting downtown workers out for a lunchtime stroll. Evening lectures for adults, covered topics like "Landscaping with Native Prairie Plants." — Nicole Kamins

Wreckless Abandon
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore recently conducted an innovative site restoration project: airlifting junk from sensative habitat. Before becoming a national lakeshore, a large roadless section had been a local dumping ground with auto bodies and large appliances left to degrade in an area that also happens to be prime habitat for the endangered Karner blue butterfly.

Traditional methods of removing the junk would have severely impacted the wild lupine — he sole food source for the Karner butterfly larvae. Instead, the scattered debris was gathered up by hand and packaged for removal by a contract helicopter. The nearly 14,000 pounds of material removed during two dozen flights was hauled away by a local recycling firm. The event received extensive regional media coverage focusing on the resource management benefits of the project.

Pennies for the Prairie
When faced with the daunting task of raising about $480,000 to save 80 acres of open space adjacent to Barrington's Flint Creek Savanna from development, Citizens for Conservation (CFC) member Jo Seagren remembered that every little bit helps. Seagren, Melissa Warshaw, and other volunteers decorated and distributed milk and water cooler jugs to local businesses and area elementary schools in a "Pennies for the Prairie" campaign. By late fall the children had collected almost 800 pounds of change totaling $2,411.

The expanded preserve will contain nearly a mile of creek, four oak groves, assorted wetlands and 30 acres of prairie. Pam Meiser, teacher and student council advisor at Rose Elementary School, challenged her students to predict what their milk jug full of pennies weighed each week. They charted predictions, weighed the jugs in the nurse's office, and recorded amounts. "Some kids even took their allowances to the bank to trade them in for pennies," said Meiser. After six weeks of wholehearted fundraising, Tami White's class collected almost 131 pounds of change and won a Student Council/Parent Teacher Organization sponsored ice-cream party. — Alison Carney Brown

Best Burn Season In Memory
That's what most land managers have been saying about fall 1999. But Wayne Lampa, whose memory goes back to DuPage County Forest Preserve District's very first burns said, "Well, you get a fine opportunity like this every 10 to 12 years. 1988 was another good one. There are many important areas that just won't burn until you have a long dry season like this."

Lake County Forest Preserves' Ken Klick said, "It's been a rewarding season — exhausting but rewarding. We burned an incredible 30 sites. We burned every day between October 15 to December 3 — except for three days, two because it was too windy and one because it was raining."

As this issue goes to press, DuPage County had burned an impressive 4,700 acres out of a goal of 5,400. (There will be a summary report of the 1999 season in the spring issue.) DuPage's Cindy Hedges pointed out that a year like this is especially important for areas badly infested by non-native grasses. "They burn poorly if at all unless it's really dry," she said.

The focus in most counties was on hard-to-burn areas. In some wooded areas, a fall like this is the only opportunity to burn without winds so strong that the old oaks are likely to burn too. And for marshes clogged with excess cattail, a dry fall burn is likely to thin them out to make room for the plants, birds, and other species of open "hemi-marsh." According to many land managers, the last fall of the millennium was distinguished for "quality burns."

But Lake County's Klick made perhaps an even more profound point. "Perhaps the greatest accomplishment was on a different level. We demonstrated to our Board that we can burn under dry conditions without problems. They had faith in us, and we lived up to it."

98 in 1999: New Members
On November 22, Chicago Wilderness welcomed six new members bringing the total number of organizations to 98. The Environmental Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University of Chicago offers numerous courses relating to biodiversity and conservation. Faculty research projects include assessing effects of major land-use changes on stream quality in McHenry County, studying attempts to reverse cattail invasion at Ryerson Woods, and monitoring impacts of non-native species on Lake Michigan biodiversity. DePaul University Environmental Science Program provides education on local and global environmental issues. Through teaching and research activities, faculty seek to foster concern for the protection, restoration and stewardship of Chicago's natural environment. The 13-acre Emily Oaks Nature Center, a Skokie Park District facility, has been a restoration site since 1988. The center's native plant garden for seed production is maintained solely by local volunteers. Emily Oaks' annual summer camp focuses on kids' relationship with nature. NiSource Environmental Challenge Fund is a not-for-profit corporation created by Northern Indiana Public Service Company to stimulate local efforts to preserve, protect, and enhance the environment in the NIPSCO service area. The Fund provides grants for biodiversity restoration/enhancement projects. The Park District of Highland Park offers programs to enrich the quality of community life through a variety of leisure pursuits and environmental education. The ongoing restoration of the 100-acre Heller Nature Preserve is a Park District project. The River Forest Park District seeks to acquire, develop, and preserve recreational open space and park facilities. The Park District seeks to provide opportunities for residents to become active participants in restoration and conservation efforts.

Waste Not
When it looked like the seven million ton Prairie View landfill next to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet was going to expand to 20 million tons capacity, activists sprang into action. Members of the Sierra Club, Thorn Creek Audubon Society, and Midewin Alliance wrote letters, testified before the Will County Board, and submitted petitions to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. "The intent of the 1996 legislation that created Midewin, the National Cemetery, and two industrial parks, has always been that this would be a small landfill for waste from Will County only," said Marianne Hahn, president of the Midewin Alliance. With no deed restrictions, however, the county could have enlarged the landfill allowing garbage from much of northeastern Illinois to be deposited there. But Congressman Jerry Weller, apprised of the potential danger to Midewin's fragile habitats, sponsored an amendment to the Defense Department budget that limits the landfill to waste from Will County and municipalities lying partly in the county. Weller's amendment became part of the signed bill in September.

Meanwhile, Waste Management of Illinois Inc. is seeking a permit for the site from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The Sierra Club and other groups are urging Illinois Governor George Ryan's administration not to grant a permit for the landfill unless threats to Midewin's Prairie Creek are addressed and eliminated. — Alison Carney Brown

They Will Come
When asked if she planned to truck in animals to stock the proposed prairie at the Wildwood Nature Center at Maine Park in Park Ridge, Supervisor Julie Greve stated, "No, if we build it, they will come." The plan will transform the site into a prairie grove harboring more than 150 species of grasses and flowers. Grasses such as big and little bluestem, bottle brush, Virginia rye, along with blackeyed Susan, asters, wild blue iris, and bee balm will provide habitat for many species of birds, butterflies, small mammals and more.

Pizzo & Associates, landscape architects, has designed the restoration and will begin work this spring. The Wildwood Nature Center hosts a summer nature camp for more than 100 children. A local Eagle Scout, Joe Luzio, approached Greve for a nature project and she assigned him the task of removing non-native trees and shrubs. This ambitious scout is developing a map and field guide identifying the flora. The restoration may yield another dividend by un-inviting Canada geese, the scourge of manicured golf courses and parks, which prefer to avoid high grasses where their predators might hide. To help out, contact Greve at (847) 692-3570. — Michael Graff

Special thanks to Jack Darin of the Sierra Club for his help with the news.