Stories by Patty Wetli

A new report highlights several supply-and-demand conundrums and makes recommendations for how to increase native seed production.

Parts of the Chicago region could get drenched with up to 2 inches of rain Wednesday, with localized flooding likely. High winds will stick around through Thursday.

It’s been months since the Chicago Park District discovered the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture started construction on an unauthorized building in Humboldt Park. The half-finished cement box is still there. Is there an end in sight?

A San Francisco-based tech startup has announced the launch of the latest tool in the fight to stave off the worst of climate change: genetically modified trees.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Chicago area. Slippery pavement will be a bigger issue than snow accumulation.

Re:SET Concert Series is selling tickets to a three-day summer music fest in Belmont Cragin’s Riis Park. Did promoters jump the gun or is the Park District cutting deals without community input?

The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of landmark status for Promontory Point.

In what’s become an annual tradition, staff at Brookfield Zoo handed out Valentine’s Day treats to several animals this holiday. The reactions were priceless.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will play Wrigley Field on Aug. 9. Tickets go on sale Friday.

As a more complete, and complex, portrait has emerged of John James Audubon, birders and ornithologists have struggled to reconcile their missions with the troubling aspects of his legacy: buying and selling slaves, plagiarism and the exploitation of natural resources.  

During press interviews held after WTTW's mayoral forum Tuesday evening, challengers to Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged to reestablish a Department of Environment — disbanded in 2011 under Rahm Emanuel — if elected.

Early voting sites for Chicago’s municipal election will open in all of the city’s 50 wards on Monday, running through Election Day Feb. 28.

Road salt runoff is making its way into Great Lakes waterways. Wisconsin has pending legislation that could encourage contractors to use less.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has given Promontory Point preliminary landmark status. But the Park District board needs to consent to the designation as the next step in the process. 

“There are places you walk where you see sky touching the earth, and you can imagine this as the gateway to the Grand Prairie,” site steward Pat Hayes said of Orland Grassland.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, animal rights advocates are asking the Cook County Forest Preserve District to have a heart and release “Rocky” the coyote.

New research shows bison are altering the landscape in unexpected ways when reintroduced to Midwest prairie ecosystems. 

Chicago has announced the winners in its “name that snowplow” contest. Did your favorite make the cut?

Late winter is coyote mating season, which reaches its peak toward the end of February. That's leading to more sightings than usual by humans — even in downtown Chicago — as the animals are a bit bolder and on the move in their search for a soulmate.

For an animal that has its own holiday, the groundhog kind of flies under the radar. Let’s get to know it better.

The Green Comet is making its closest pass to Earth Wednesday night and the skies are looking clear enough for Adler Planetarium to host a virtual viewing party.

A federal evaluation of Chicago’s shoreline by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will no longer include Promontory Point — because the Point is getting a review all its own.

If the embattled online retailer still wants to build its tower in Skokie, the company will have to start the approval process back at square one, village trustees said.

Headlines spun out of control when it came to new research results on the Earth’s core. In other news, narwhals have had it with noisy neighbors.

Admission for a Chicago adult will increase from $9 to $15 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and from $18 to $21 at the Field Museum. The Park District Board of Commissioners approved the hikes Wednesday.

WTTW News explains the science behind lake effect snow. (Hint: We’re lucky to be on this side of Lake Michigan.)