LAKE CALUMET 2006: HABITAT & ACCESS ISSUES

by Walter Marcisz

The Calumet region of southeastern Chicago has long been appreciated by birders and nature lovers for its extensive wetlands and other wildlife habitats. Unfortunately, the quality of these habitats has been severely and continuously compromised through years of abuse and neglect. Heavy industry has dominated the area throughout much of the past century, with predictable impacts on the environment.

Much of the heavy steel industry is now gone from the Calumet area, and the garbage dumps are closing. But the legacy of decades of environmental abuse remains. As of 2006, the Chicago Department of Environment (CDOE) maintains an active interest in reclaiming and rehabilitating the habitats of the Calumet area, but much work clearly still needs to be done. Without question, some of the Calumet area habitats have been significantly improved through the CDOE's efforts, whereas other habitats sadly continue to decline in quality. Access to prime Calumet birding areas also continues to be problematic in 2006 due to private land ownership issues, although some access restrictions have thankfully been lifted in 2006.

In regard to habitat concerns, the future of Hegewisch Marsh (proposed site of the Ford Environmental Center) cuts straight to the heart of the issue. After a number of severe drought years, the deep marsh habitat at Hegewisch Marsh is closing up -vegetation is now thoroughly choking out the center basin. Hegewisch Marsh has traditionally provided nesting habitat for Yellow-headed Blackbirds and other deep marsh birds, but if the center basin closes up completely, Hegewisch Marsh will no longer provide appropriate habitat for these species. As of 2006, Yellow-headed Blackbirds are hanging on by a thread in the Calumet region -one territorial male at Hegewisch Marsh, two territorial males at Eggers Woods, and one territorial male at Burnham Prairie.

Funds from the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant will be used to clear out "choking" vegetation and otherwise rehabilitate Hegewisch Marsh in the upcoming months. Per Nicole Kamins of the CDOE, bidding for contractors will begin on December 1, 2006, and the actual Hegewisch Marsh rehabilitation work will begin in early January, 2007.

In terms of habitat improvements, considerable success has been achieved in the control of exotic/invasive Purple Loosestrife at Powderhorn Lake Forest Preserve as of 2006. Over the years, the multiple releases of Purple Loosestrife-eating Galerucella beetles at Powderhorn Marsh have made a huge difference. Interdunal marshes that were virtually 100% clogged with loosestrife ten years ago have now been reclaimed by virtually 100% cattails -biological control at its best! In addition, Powderhorn Lake Forest Preserve (along with two other Calumet area preserves) was approved for IL Nature Preserve status at the May Forest Preserve District of Cook County board meeting. Following approval, the IL Nature Preserves Commission will review and hopefully formally dedicate these sites as IL Nature Preserves (IL Nature Preserves enjoy the highest level of protection a natural area can receive in the state of Illinois).

Observations from this year suggest that Black-crowned Night-Herons had a successful nesting season at Indian Ridge Marsh, although overall numbers were quite low following last year's drought.

Lake Calumet itself remains under the jurisdiction of the Illinois International Port District (IIPD). In the name of Homeland Security, access to the lake is restricted by the IIPD, and all indications suggest that access will be even more severely restricted in the future. Most unfortunate, as birding at Lake Calumet can be quite good. Permission for field trips to Lake Calumet is rarely granted, but when it is rare birds turn up -a single field trip led by Jim Landing in February of 2006 produced a California Gull (found by Robert Hughes).

Harborside International Golf Course (located at the north end of Lake Calumet) remains the silver lining to the Lake Calumet story. IIPD continues to grant birders access to the golf course (clubhouse balcony only) during season (April - October), and IIPD continues to maintain wetland habitat on the Harborside peninsula and grassland habitat on the golf course grounds. Illinois state endangered/threatened species observed at the Harborside peninsula wetland in 2006 include Least Bittern, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Common Moorhen, Common Tern, and Forster's Tern. Despite very high water levels, the Harborside peninsula also attracted significant numbers of migrant shorebirds in 2006, including Black-bellied Plovers, Willet, Red Knot, & Wilson's Phalarope, and the golf course grasslands attracted summering Savannah Sparrows, Dickcissels, Bobolinks, & Eastern Meadowlarks.

In 2006 new leadership at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) began a process of loosening access restrictions to their facilities. The MWRDGC Calumet Water Treatment Plant has long been considered by many birders to be the best spot for migrant shorebirds in the Chicago area. Unfortunately, the Plant has essentially been closed to birders since 9/11, but in 2006 the Plant was reopened to birders, largely due to negotiations with the MWRDGC by Libby Hill of the Evanston-North Shore Bird Club (ENSBC). Although late in the season, an ENSBC pilot field trip to the Calumet plant on September 16th produced good numbers of twelve shorebird species. In order to access the Calumet Plant, birders must necessarily follow MWRDGC procedures: birding groups must contact the MWRDGC 30 days prior to the proposed visit, and all group members must fill out and mail in release forms provided by MWRDGC.

On July 29th a press conference was held to announce the donation of 16 acres of land along the Little Calumet River to the City of Chicago by Mittal Steel for Bald Eagle nesting habitat. This parcel of land has been a seasonal home to a pair of Bald Eagles which have built a nest and maintained a territory there for the past three years. The land will be transferred to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and under Chicago's Nature and Wildlife Plan, will become part of the Calumet Open Space Reserve. As a footnote, over the years Mittal Steel and its predecessors on a number of occasions have attempted to swap this very land parcel for a tract of protected land at nearby Whistler Woods Forest Preserve. Fortunately, none of these potentially precedent-setting land swap proposals ever got off the ground, and instead Mittal Steel has now ended up donating the land as eagle habitat. Much preferred, in this writer's estimation.

Lastly, it goes without saying that the Calumet region is always good for a surprise or two. On August 4th, Michal Furmanek found a group of five Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at Heron Pond, west of Torrence Avenue & south of 122nd Street in the Calumet area. Other observers subsequently found six Yellow-crowns there at one time, but a breakdown of age groups (6 adults, 1 2nd-year, 2 juveniles) indicates that at least nine individual Yellow-crowned Night-Herons visited Heron Pond this year. Amazing!