----- Forwarded by Rich Greenwood/R3/FWS/DOI on 03/25/2006 07:40 PM -----
News articles from Chicago Tribune and Chicago SunTimes re: the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service's National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant for
Hegewisch Marsh in Indiana.
Tribune erroneously says Whooping Crane nests there, but otherwise both
appear fairly accurate.
---------------------------------
City marsh set to get face-lift
---------------------------------
$750,000 grant from Fish and Wildlife Service will help revitalize
Hegewisch, surrounding area
By Michael Hawthorne
Tribune staff reporter
February 2, 2006
Surrounded by automobile factories, garbage dumps and a polluted river, a
soggy tract of cottonwoods and cattails on Chicago's Far Southeast Side
still attracts migratory birds searching for a meal and a place to rest.
The ornithological oasis soon could be drawing human visitors too.
A $750,000 federal grant announced Wednesday will help spruce up Hegewisch
Marsh by removing invasive plants and coaxing wetlands back to something
close to the preindustrial conditions of more than a century ago.
The idea is to tweak the ecology enough to make the marsh more attractive
to birds that nest there or use it as a stop on the migratory flyway that
hugs the shore of Lake Michigan. Species commonly found at the marsh
include yellow-headed blackbirds and black-crowned night herons, both on
the state's endangered list.
Local, state and federal officials think restoring Hegewisch Marsh, at
130th Street and Torrence Avenue, also could help turn the long-neglected
but environmentally significant area into a tourist attraction.
Anchored by a new center devoted to the environmental history of the Lake
Calumet region, the marsh is part of 4,800 acres of protected wetlands and
woodlands amid the remnants of a once-thriving industrial complex.
"It's a special place in an urban environment where folks can come to see a
heron or an eagle very close to home," said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who along
with Mayor Richard Daley and other state officials accepted a giant
ceremonial check from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Plans drawn up for the site call for trails meandering through woods,
sedges and meadows ringing the marsh. Observation platforms will be built
for bird watchers and curious onlookers from the nearby Ford Calumet
Environmental Center, a steel-and-glass building that Daley frequently
cites as an example of the city's commitment to "green" architecture.
"We don't know exactly what this area was like 200 years ago, but we can
create conditions these marsh birds like," said John Rogner, field
supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The environmental center is one of the latest attempts to boost economic
development in a region devastated by the collapse of industries that once
employed thousands.
During the heyday of the steel mills and factories, areas like Hegewisch
Marsh were considered bug-infested swamps that were useful only as dumping
grounds for slag, garbage and other waste.
Nobody thinks the urbanized region will ever revert to the wet and woody
land that led wealthy businessmen during the 1800s to build exclusive
hunting and fishing clubs around Lake Calumet. But Daley and other leaders
have said future development should include more environmentally friendly
areas.
"That marsh has been neglected and degraded for a long time," said Jim
Louderman, a collections assistant at the Field Museum, which has been
involved in the restoration efforts. "But with a little help and some time
spent, it can be brought back."
- - -
New life for Hegewisch Marsh
100 acres of forests and wetlands will be transformed
HABITAT RESTORATION
- Removal of invasive plants, planting of native plants
- Excavations to provide more wetland areas
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
- Proposed adjacent Ford Calumet Environmental Center would provide
outreach to local schools and be a hub for research
RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
- Improved trail systems for hiking, biking and canoeing
- Creation of boardwalks, bridges and lookout towers
PROTECTION OF SPECIES
- Heron, whooping cranes and yellow-headed blackbird already nest in the
area. A bald eagle has been spotted.
- Yellow-headed blackbird
Among Illinois' endangered species
Size: 8-11 inches long,
Weighs: 2.8 ounces
Markings: Black body, bright yellow hood and breast, and white wing patches
Habitat: Freshwater marshes
Diet: Beetles, dragonflies and spiders
Sources: Office of the Lieutenant Governor, whatbird.com
Chicago Tribune
----------
mhawthorne@tribune.com
Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
Million-dollar
grant to fix up
lake's 'kidney'
February 2, 2006
BY GARY WISBY
Environment
Reporter
Tucked into the
southeast corner of
Chicago, Hegewisch
Marsh seems an odd
choice for a
"coastal wetlands"
federal grant of
$750,000.
Even if you count
the shoreline of
Lake Michigan as a
coast, the 140-acre
marsh is nearly
five miles from the
lake.
But there was U.S.
Fish & Wildlife
Service chief Dale
Hall at the Chicago
Cultural Center on
Wednesday,
symbolically
signing an
oversized check for
Mayor Daley and
Illinois Lt. Gov.
Pat Quinn.
Hall said the
restoration plan
was one of 19 to
win U.S. funding
this year, beating
out 21 competitors.
It was chosen as
one of only two
urban projects --
the other is in
Detroit. A 40
percent match from
the city, state,
Conservation Fund
and Field Museum
will bring the
contribution to
$1,260,540.
Hegewisch Marsh may
not be on the lake,
but it is part of
the lake. Connected
by the Calumet
River, it helps
clean the lake by
filtering out
pollution. "In a
lot of ways, the
marsh is one of the
kidneys of Lake
Michigan," said
Quinn.
And along with the
other 10 wetlands
in the 4,800-acre
Calumet Open Space
Reserve, Hegewisch
Marsh is a haven
for endangered and
threatened wildlife
-- including
Blanding's turtle,
Franklin's ground
squirrel, the
yellow-headed
blackbird,
pied-billed grebe
and black-crowned
night heron.
City going for Big
Marsh
Plans for the site
include woods,
savanna, meadows
and sedge, hiking
trails and scenic
overlooks. It will
be home to the
24,000-square-foot
Ford Calumet
Environmental
Center, serving
visitors and
students from 22
schools within a
10-mile radius.
Quinn said the
marsh's proximity
to Interstate 80
will make it a
national
destination for
tourists.
"Nature can come
back to urban
areas," Daley said.
"The idea that you
have to travel far
from the city to
enjoy nature? You
don't have to any
more."
The city is
negotiating with
Waste Management to
buy an even larger
wetland, 300-acre
Big Marsh.
Five years ago the
city and state put
together the
Calumet Land Use
Plan out of mostly
vacant space, much
of it polluted by a
long-departed steel
industry. Set aside
in addition to the
open space reserve
are 3,000 acres for
industrial
redevelopment.
gwisby@suntimes.com
Illinois
Hegewisch Marsh Restoration. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor,
in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection Agency, will restore 55 acres of a 100-acre
coastal wetland of Lake Michigan within the 4,800 acre Calumet Open
Space Reserve in south Chicago. Restoration will include the removal
of non-natives, planting native plants and excavations to provide
more emergent wetland areas.
Partners: City of Chicago, the Conservation Fund and the Field
Museum of Natural History.
Coastal grant: $750,000
State share: $218,501
Partners share: $292,038
Total cost: $1,260,539
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