Wild Things 2025

Bob Dolgan’s conservation-focused films like “Monty and Rose,” “The Magic Stump,” and “Fluddles” have been accepted to multiple film festivals and broadcast on several public television stations. We’ll begin with an overview of what makes a good story and will resonate with nature fans and non-nature fans alike. We’ll also discuss lessons learned from more than 100 screenings with live audiences and why these films may have garnered some laughs and tears. In the Q&A portion of this session, we’ll provide ideas for telling your story in a way that resonates with a broader audience.

Fungi are among the most diverse and ecological important group of organisms on earth.  They also directly benefit people as food, sources of medicines, etc. Unfortunately, they are not immune to the threats that put species of animals and plants at risk including habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, loss of symbiotic hosts, pollution, over exploitation, and climate change. Yet, efforts to conserve them lag far behind actions on animals and plants.  Progress is being made, but there is much work yet to be done.  Because fungal diversity and distributions are still poorly documented, there is great opportunity for discovery.  Thus, community scientists can make significant contributions. There is a long history of amateur mycologists and other field naturalists contributing important data, but for the most part, their efforts have not been coordinated, and the results of their findings were often not captured.  While websites like iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer now provide a platform to capture observation data, the information on these sites are for the most part random observations, and efforts are not coordinated to target gaps in knowledge on species of interest. Several recent initiatives are addressing these issues and are providing individuals with the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to efforts focused on documenting fungal diversity and their conservation.

This is an informal natural history discussion of the various hunting wasps and parasitoids you might encounter on flowers, fences, trails, and other habitats in the Chicago Area.

Prescribed fire managers often hesitate to burn areas containing rare wildlife (E&T, SGCN) due to concerns about mortality. These hesitations can lead to missed opportunities, lack of prescribed fire, and frustration. We developed communication procedures using published literature and weather data sets to support burn-day decisions that provide confidence in minimizing impacts. We hope to provide future empirical data to further support such decisions at a local level. Presenters will share feedback from burn crews.

Over nine years we tested the effect of introducing wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis) on (1) the abundance of big bluestem and Indian grass, (2) invasion by tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), and (3) our ability to enrich the prairie with a mix of forbs and short grasses. We tested three betony introduction treatments plus a control, and two densities of betony seeding. Betony introduction decreased the average cover of tall grasses by 42% and goldenrod cover by 78% relative to levels in the control. The cover of additional prairie species was 96% greater in the betony treatment relative to control plots.

To restore oak savannas, ecosystem stewards and managers cut invasive brush and thin trees, creating woody debris brush piles that are subsequently burned. With approximately 5,000 brush piles built and burned annually in the Chicago region, the ecological restoration community is concerned about the effects of burn scars on regional biodiversity and interested in developing strategies for minimizing these impacts. In response, we established a series of studies to 1) characterize short- and long-term effects of brush pile burns on plant and soil biodiversity; 2) identify the management choices that minimize or maximize these effects; and 3) evaluate post-burn strategies for mitigating brush pile burning effects on biodiversity. In this session, we will discuss current findings from a large-scale survey, a chronosequence study, and a restoration treatment experiment.

Our phenology study at LREC, ongoing since 2014, focuses on the timing of flower bloom in our prairies and woodlands. This project has not only built a useful, long-term data set for future research and analysis, but also helps us gain a better understanding of the plant communities we manage and gives us an opportunity to engage our community in an interesting and constructive way.

History and background of Somme Woods ecological restoration and summary of tasks undertaken by volunteers, staff, conservation corps and contractors, all partnering to advance biodiversity conservation of oak woodland, savanna, sedge meadow, ephemeral brooks and pools

Special emphasis in this presentation: a deep dive into the guiding principles and nitty-gritty of the indispensable summer stewardship essentials, scything and seeds work: why these constitute the Somme secret sauce to successful oak woodland biodiversity conservation

30 min. presentation followed by 20 min. Q&A and discussion

This panel discussion will provide the opportunity for the panelists to describe how to effectively collaborate across disciplines and responsibilities to effectively attend to the health of the community and the health of prairies that are located in the city of Markham, Il., known as the Prairie Capital of the Prairie State
Managing the five plus prairies that comprise 13% of the land mass requires a perspective that is specific, engaging, intentional, flexible, and adaptable with boundaries. Dynamics to be consider and how they have been addressed will be shared in a manner that the attendees will experience the practicality of "thinking outside of the box" with the goal of positively impacting people and nature. People in the community and colleagues are challenged and answer the question "Why?" when determining ways of operation at this unique preserve where people and prairie are neighbors. Attendees will come away with an understanding that at this preserve, prairies in a city, prairie management happens. a youth intern program happens. Stewardship happens. Collaboratively! It's not just theory. It's our practice.

Have you ever been to Southern Illinois? Did you know there are massive sandstone bluffs, wetlands, sloughs, caves, limestone glades, barrens and cliffs that still exist in Illinois today? Enjoy a virtual tour of the amazing and unique landscapes that make Southern Illinois such a special place. You will learn about the history of Southern Illinois, the natural divisions and community types that converge there, and you'll hear about some of the local management needs and conservation challenges groups like The Nature Conservancy are involved with.

Learn about the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s ongoing large-scale restoration project at Red Gate Woods in the Palos Preserves. A project overview will be provided, including the project timeline, goals and operations. Progress, challenges, and opportunities for the project will be discussed. We will talk about site history, touching on geological processes and past land use. We will also get a chance to learn about the site’s herbaceous layer recovery, native shrub layer, tree canopy composition and ecosystem services provided by the restoration project. Detailed maps will be included, and the use of geographic information systems to organize contractor data and workflow will be discussed.

1/4th of North America’s nocturnal migrating birds move north through the CW Region in the spring; then go back south in the fall in even larger numbers (including birds born that summer). This twice a year transect makes the CW a critical corridor! And the numbers don’t lie: Many species are experiencing significant population declines! Can CW’s landscape, both managed natural lands and human spaces, be made safer and more ‘user-friendly’ for stopover migrants and breeding species alike? The answer – an emphatic yes! Doable actions to lower the Region’s human source mortality risks, plus adjustments to land management practices – will do that, even amidst the growing impact of climate change.

There was an unexpected large expansion of the cicadas’ main emergence area in DuPage County, compared to 2007. Island biogeography theory provides one explanation for this. The series of 4-year-early emergences, now established as self-sustaining, appears best explained by nymphal overcrowding. Magicicada septendecula has not been found here. The Valparaiso Moraine proves to be the dividing line between Broods XIII and X in northwestern Indiana.

The Chicago city lakefront is currently home to four active purple martin colonies. Martins (Progne subis) are the largest swallow in the world, the highest flying insectivore in North America, and a long distance migrant to the Amazon Basin each winter. In 2020, a collaboration between the Chicago Park District and Field Museum began to study this charismatic bird that faithfully returns to our shores each spring to mate and raise its young. Ahead of the fifth year of the research, project co-founder and CPD site monitor Lauren Nassef will share the story of the project's inception and plans for future growth.

As human influence has spread further into natural areas, some species have adapted their behaviors so they can live in proximity to humans. The coyote’s notorious behavioral flexibility has allowed the species to thrive in both natural and highly urbanized settings. To determine how environmental pressures from urbanization may influence coyote behavior, we examined coyote exploration tendencies by conducting novel object tests throughout the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area. In this session, learn how something as seemingly simple as a garden gnome can elicit a variety of responses from one of the region’s top mammalian predators.

I will provide a summary of our research on the factors associated with the decline of eastern Whip-poor-wills in the Midwest. This includes data on pesticide loads, insect abundance, habitat quality, and nesting success. The talk with discuss the challenges and opportunities to recover the species.

A number of shoreline restorations along the Chicago River have been completed in recent years. We compared three of them - one unrestored, one restored, and one where the clearing and bank restoration happened, but the bulk of woody plants were not yet installed. Hear about the results and research-backed suggestions for improving river bank restoration. 30 minute presentation (4 presenters), 20 minutes for discussion

Since 1910, conservation and environmental studies have been an integral part of Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America). Scouts have rendered distinguished public service by helping to conserve wildlife, energy, forests, soil, and water. Past generations of Scouts and their adult advisors have been widely recognized for undertaking conservation action projects in their local communities. A panel of three Scouts from the Pathway to Adventure Council will share their experiences with environmental explorations and conservation service projects.

The Art of collecting trees, shrubs, and vines seed for propagation, the talk will included the selection of plants, seed collection, seed processing, and stratification. I will talk what we do commercially. Also include how home owners and and how to successfully secede in collecting , storage, for succesful seedling growing,