Illinois Natural History Survey Reports

              R e p o r t s
Spring 2006
No. 387
Mallows in Illinois
2
Male-produced Aggre­gation Pheromone in
Galerucella Beetles
3
Reference Stream Con­ditions in the Illinois Grand Prairie Natural Division
4
Slowing the Invasion of Exotic Plants in Illinois
5
Species Spotlight: Columbine
6
The Naturalist's
Apprentice: Draw the Mystery Picture
7
Continued on back page
Chicago Wilderness Celebrates 10 Years of Cooperative Conservation
About 10 years ago, representa­tives of a handful of groups, including the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), met at Chicago’s Field Museum to dis­cuss how they might cooperate to conserve biodiversity in the Chicago area. Soon their num­ber grew to 34 forward-thinking organizations. In April 1996 they formed Chicago Wilder­ness, a consortium dedicated to protect, restore, study, and manage the ecosystems of the Chicago region to help preserve global biodiversity and enrich local residents’ quality of life. Now more than 180 members strong, Chicago Wilderness is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
“Chicago Wilderness” sounds like an oxymoron; after all, more than 9 million people call this region home. Yet despite its intense urbaniza­tion and sprawling suburbs, the Chicago metropolitan area has significant natural resources. Stretching from southeastern Wisconsin through northeastern Illinois and into northwestern Indiana, the region holds more than 225,000 acres of protected lands and waters, home to thousands of native plant and animal species, many of them threatened or endangered. Some of the natural communities they form are rare enough to be of global conservation significance. For example, many of the best remaining examples of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna, both of which have almost disappeared from both the state and region, can be found in the Chicago area. The region is also a crucial stopping point for birds migrating along the Lake Michigan Flyway and provides breeding habitat for many grassland, wetland, and forest birds.
Independently and in partner­ship, Chicago Wilderness mem­bers work to restore the health of local natural areas using land management tools such as con­trolled burns and invasive species removal, and monitor the status of the region’s plants and animals using both professional scientists and trained volunteer citizen scientists. Consortium members conduct research to understand the biology of the region’s organ­isms and the impacts of habitat changes upon them. They train school teachers to incorporate the concept of biodiversity into their classroom curricula. Members of the consortium also work with elected officials and land-use planners to facilitate sustainable development.
Chicago Wilderness has achieved many notable successes. These include the publication of the Biodiversity Recovery
Blanding’s turtle, an Illinois-threatened species now found primarily in the Chicago area. INHS staff are studying this species’ biology and status.Photo by Mike Dreslik, INHS
Yellow-headed Blackbird banded during INHS re­search. In Illinois, this species breeds only in the Chicago area. Photo by Mike Ward, INHS.
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