Black Crowned Night Heron by Rufus Jones/Audubon Photography Awards

Chicago Tribune dives deep into the case of the black-crowned night herons tracing how abandoned nests reveal gaps in the state’s ability to protect endangered species

In December 2022, The Chicago Tribune posted Maddie Ellis’ in-depth article on Chicago’s Black Crowned Night Herons examining the complexity and limits of protecting state endangered species.

But construction last year on a new trail around the Chicago History Museum displaced a flock of the birds and put the remaining population at risk, as it is now highly concentrated in one location. Lardner wants to know what happened.
For some conservation advocates, the herons’ abandonment of their nests represents a long-standing gap between policies in place to protect endangered wildlife and how they play out in practice. The state Endangered Species Protection Act mandates that public entities consult the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on any projects that could alter environmental conditions or could affect wildlife.

The reporter draws on important insights from Amy Lardner, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors Director, Annette Prince and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Endangered Species Recovery Specialist, Brad Semel. The article raises crucial questions about whether state-listed endangered species are genuinely protected and whether there are any teeth to the endangered species protection laws.

According to a 2017 analysis of state endangered species laws from the University of California, Irvine, published in the Environmental Law Reporter, most states have inadequate conservation laws to prevent habitat loss and plan for species recovery.

Read the in-depth article on the difficulties and complexities of protecting this large group of Herons in Chicago: Chicago Tribune article on Black Crowned Night Herons in Chicago