Michael Davidson has been named president and CEO of the conservation organization Openlands. (Courtesy of Openlands)

The last time the conservation organization experienced a changing of the leadership guard, the year was 1988, Ronald Reagan was president, Mike Tyson was heavyweight champ, and floppy disks were still a thing.

Illinois Beach State Park boasts some of the highest quality remnant habitat in the Midwest, but it’s being threatened by invasive plant species. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

A kick-off event Sept. 16 is aimed at recruiting more volunteer stewards, whose work helps safeguard the nature preserve’s endangered and threatened species.

An endangered Bowmouth Guitarfish, one of three 11-month-old pups that has arrived at Shedd Aquarium. (Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)

Bowmouth Guitarfish, also called Shark Rays, are hunted for their fins and thorns. Three rescued pups have arrived at Shedd Aquarium.

Bruno de Medeiros, assistant curator of insects, with just a handful of the beetles in the Field Museum’s collection. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Beetles, and weevils in particular, are thought of as destructive pests. Bruno de Medeiros, assistant curator of insects at the Field Museum, is upending those preconceptions.

Shedd Aquarium biologist Melissa Youngquist, checking in on wetland monitoring sites. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

This time of year, Shedd Aquarium biologist Melissa Youngquist can be found in the woods, sloshing through ponds in search of signs of amphibian life.

Recent vandalism at LaBagh Woods. Fencing designed to protect native shrubs from deer was torn apart. (Chicago Ornithological Society / Twitter)

A mystery vandal is once again undoing ecological restoration work at LaBagh Woods.

Lincoln Park Zoo's ancient bur oak, seen in fall 2022. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Crews are scheduled to begin removal of the ancient bur oak on May 1. The zoo is planning Arbor Day events on April 28 to give the tree a celebratory farewell.

Gary Swick and Jenni Kempf Schiavone of Friends of the Fox River, along the Fox in Algonguin, Ill., April 17, 2023. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

A new short documentary, “Watershed Warriors,” focuses on Friends of the Fox River and the progress the organization has made to reclaim the waterway as a natural resource for the people, wildlife and plants that live within its watershed.

Silvia Alvarez-Clare of Morton Arboretum measures a tree’s diameter in Costa Rica. (The Morton Arboretum)

“This is providing the means for us to collaborate not only within the Chicagoland area but to really make a difference in biodiversity hot spots across the globe,” said Chuck Knapp, vice president of conservation research at Shedd Aquarium.

Orland Grassland, a thousand-acre restored prairie. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

“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.

Bison are the largest land mammal in North America. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

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

Motus antenna assembly at Ryerson Conservation Area. (Lake County Forest Preserves)

Lake County Forest Preserves has now joined a global wildlife tracking network, expanding the ability of researchers to follow the movement of migratory birds through the Chicago region.

Hegewisch Marsh, seen from South Torrence Avenue. (Google)

The federal government has just announced its most significant investment to date in nature-based projects aimed at creating "climate-ready" coastlines, and Chicago is among the communities that will benefit from this latest round of funding.

A Zimbabwe National Parks official inspects some of the elephant tusks during a tour of ivory stockpiles in Harare, May, 16, 2022. (AP Photo / Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known by its initials as CITES, ended Friday in Panama. Along with protections for over 500 species, delegates at the United Nations wildlife conference rejected a proposal to reopen the ivory trade. An ivory ban was enacted in 1989.

A giraffe is pictured at Brookfield Zoo in November 2022. (WTTW News)

Brookfield Zoo is celebrating a big milestone. It was a century ago when construction on the grounds began.

Marc Schlossman, pictured with bird specimens at the Field Museum, Oct. 25, 2022. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Marc Schlossman spent a decade photographing specimens of extinct and endangered species housed at the Field Museum. The result is a new book, “Extinction,” which Schlossman calls an exercise in hope.