Stories by Patty Wetli

A 1,000-acre, $10 million restoration project is now underway at Red Gate Woods, part of the vast Palos Preserve system in southwestern Cook County.

Cicada Watch 2024 is reaching fever pitch in the Chicago region, where Brood XIII periodical cicadas are expected to burst from the ground by the millions, any day now. Here’s what’s in store.

“One of the biggest things about litter is it makes people think that the river is more polluted than it is,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

The Field Museum ushered in a new era of scientific exploration with Monday’s unveiling of the Chicago Archaeopteryx.

Only 13 specimens of Archaeopteryx — and one special feather — are known to exist since the first Archaeopteryx fossils were discovered in 1860. Most come from the same deposit of Solnhofen Limestone in Bavaria, Germany.

The Field formally announced to the world what had become a not-so-well-kept secret: The museum had acquired just the 13th specimen known to exist of Archaeopteryx, a fossil often described as the “missing link” between dinosaurs and birds.

WTTW News sat down with paleornithologist Jingmai O’Connor and talked about dinosaurs, birds, the Chicago Archaeopteryx, evolution and why studying fossil birds is more important now than ever.

BirdCast, a project of Cornell Bird Lab and Colorado State University, has issued a high alert for Chicago, recommending lights out to reduce collision risks for birds.

It’s not uncommon for some cicadas to jump the gun, experts said. Recent sightings, especially after last weekend’s rains, aren’t a sign that the mass emergence has started. 

Hundreds of cities around the world will take part in the friendly City Nature Challenge competition — Friday through Monday — to see who can identify the most biodiversity.

Imani is the son of Chicago's beloved late piping plover lovebirds, Monty and Rose.

For the second year in a row, the Cook County government has celebrated Earth Day by announcing a new south suburban recycling facility aimed at taking some of the nastiest garbage out of the waste stream.

These gorgeous spring ephemerals love woodland habitats near creeks, and they’ll spread like a carpet on the forest floor. But only for a couple of weeks, and then they’re gone.

The Cherry Blossom trees in Jackson Park won’t reach peak bloom this year, the Chicago Park District said.

Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’s “Late Show,” announced Wednesday night he’ll be broadcasting live from Chicago during the convention, Aug. 19-22.

Spring migration is still weeks away from reaching its peak in Chicago and already the tiny body bags are piling up, filled with birds killed in collisions with the city’s glass buildings.

For the first time in its 90-year history, Brookfield Zoo Chicago will welcome koalas.

Sharp-eyed observers have now confirmed hatchlings in three of the four bald eagle nests being monitored on Will County forest preserve property.

Lights will be out in parking lots and along portions of the lakefront bike and pedestrian trails from 7 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Alliance for the Great Lakes has collected 20 years’ worth of data from beach cleanups. Tiny plastic trash is a huge problem.

Chicago’s water has been tested numerous times for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals,” and the substances have never been detected.

Wildlife officials are reporting that the season’s first Great Lakes piping plover, known as YibBee, has returned to his breeding grounds at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Will arrivals in Chicago be far behind?

Instead of trashing those vital eclipse glasses, recycle them at any one of dozens of Chicago locations.

“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

The Illinois Department of Transportation learned a lot from the traffic jam “hangover” that followed 2017’s solar eclipse: mainly to warn motorists to expect gridlock.

An independent engineering study has concluded Promontory Point’s limestone blocks are still functioning as ample shoreline protection, which refutes a longstanding position held by the Army Corps of Engineers.