Back into the Wild 吀栀e Remarkable Recovery of Wildlife Species in Our Region by Cindi Jablonski, Wildlife Ecologist Ken Olsen Modern day wildlife populations face incredible challenges including climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, human disturbance and widespread pesticide use. Amid these challenges, a select group of once imperiled wildlife species have come back from the brink of extinction. Humans, who may have directly or indirectly caused many of the problems that led to their endangered status, intervened to save these species. While conservation e昀昀orts continue to prevent the loss of other species, it is encouraging to remember some success stories and what it took to make them happen. In this article we will discuss some species that very nearly became extinct and the actions that were taken to prevent their local or regional extinction with a focus on species that currently reside in McHenry County. Sandhill Crane Trumpeter Swans The recovery of sandhill crane populations in the upper Midwest Several events occurred simultaneously to drive trumpeter swans is nothing short of extraordinary. Sandhill Cranes within the U.S. to near extinction by the early 1900s: subsistence hunting, market were on the brink of extinction circa 1930 due to hunting and hunting for feathers, quills and skins for Europeans settlers, and habitat loss. Today they are a commonly recognized urban and loss of habitat. The introduction of the European mute swans rural species. Some 90,000 cranes now occur throughout the also occurred around this time. Originally brought over from Great Lakes states when their estimated population was only Europe for private ponds, they escaped and formed feral 昀氀ocks 25 pairs in the 1930s. Just as remarkable was that no breeding or in the wild. Mute swans will often nest in higher densities than reintroduction programs were needed for this to happen. trumpeter swans and are more aggressive towards other nesting Their recovery began with the protection a昀昀orded them by species of swans, geese and ducks, driving them out of available the Migratory Bird Treaty Act established in 1918 which made habitat. Mute swans have been known to attack, injure, and even hunting them unlawful. Increasing awareness that wetlands were kill other waterfowl for nesting or feeding grounds. valuable habitats that provided important ecological functions By the early 1900s the U.S. breeding population of trumpeter led to calls for regulatory changes in the 1970s. Federal incentives swans numbered less than 50 birds, and these were con昀椀ned to drain wetlands ceased, making the destruction of wetlands to a small area of the Rocky Mountains. Breeding populations of technically and economically less feasible. trumpeter swans were extirpated from the upper Midwest where The Swampbuster Act, o昀케cially titled the Wetland Conservation they had once been common. provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, is a provision that Captive rearing and reintroduction programs began in 1960s. discourages the conversion of wetlands to cropland use. The Breeding aged swans (2-3 years old) were released in several Emergency Wetland Resources Act of 1986 also curtailed wetland Midwest states. As these populations grew, migrating trumpeter losses. Currently many wetlands are being preserved and swans began to overwinter in Illinois. By 2015, it was estimated restored by conservation agencies. that their population was over 27,000 and documented 7,337 In McHenry County, sandhill cranes nest in almost all District sites trumpeter swans overwintering in Illinois. that contain a wetland component. More northernly nesting They also started to nest in Illinois. The 昀椀rst record of trumpeter sandhill cranes migrate through McHenry County on their way swans nesting on a District site was in 2022, observed in Exner to wintering grounds. In the early spring and late fall, thousands Marsh in Lake in the Hills; two cygnets survived to migrate with can be observed as they stop over in District wetlands during their parents that fall. In 2023, a mated pair with six young was migration. observed at Brookdale in Woodstock; all six young survived. Recent research has shown that sandhill cranes are able to live in areas with urban development and that the probability of producing young was shown to be greater in landscapes with some urban development. If the current population trajectories continue, it is thought that sandhill cranes may become as common as Canada geese in the upper Midwest. 4 Landscapes | Spring 2024