New Important Bird Areas Designated

The State Line-area Hammond Bird Sanctuary in the Calumet region, in addition to nearby George Lake and Wolf Lake/Forsythe Park, are the first locations in Lake County to join the National Audubon Societys list of Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

The State Line site is one of 13 in Indiana added this year to the Important Bird Area list. Indiana now has 26 areas on the list.

The Hammond Bird Sanctuary is located directly on the Lake Michigan shoreline, just east of the Indiana-Illinois state line. Formerly a dumping ground for slag and industrial debris, the developing vegetation at the 9.25-acre sanctuary provides what has become the regions best documented and most significant migratory songbird resting and feeding location. George Lake, located about 1.5 miles inland from the sanctuary, is an approximately 910-acre site of open water, herbaceous marshes, and small woodlots that serve as an important oasis for migrant waterbirds, shorebirds, and landbirds.

Wolf Lake (plus Forsythe Park), located directly west of George Lake, is an approximate 910-acre site bisected by the state line, of which 385 acres fall within the Indiana border. Both Wolf and George Lake are remnants of a much larger lake that encompassed biologically diverse wetlands, open water, and dune and swale ecosystems; this complex was further connected with Lake Calumet in Illinois and the wetlands of the Grand Calumet River, which have additionally been recognized as an Important Bird Area.