Aster was one of four chicks hatched barely a month ago by Blaze and Pepper. It was the pair's second season breeding on a Waukegan beach.

Father's Day took on extra meaning this year for Lake County's piping plover papa Pepper — he's a dad again, at least three times over.

According to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort, 2025 has been a year for the record books, with 82 breeding pairs counted.

Blaze and Pepper — the piping plover momma and papa who raised three chicks on a Waukegan beach in 2024 — are back on the nest with a full clutch of four eggs.

Sea Rocket, who mated with Imani in 2024, has landed at Montrose Beach. Blaze and Pepper, who raised three chicks last summer, are also back on a Waukegan beach.

A proposed change to the United States’ Endangered Species Act could threaten not only to reverse decades of progress but accelerate the pace of loss, experts said.

Monarchs left Mexico in late March and have now crossed into Illinois, according to reports.

A group of microscopic sunflower sea star larva arrived at Shedd Aquarium last year and have been bulking up behind the scenes ever since. Now, after growing 16,000%, they’re ready to make their public debut.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it was proposing to list the monarch butterfly as an endangered species. A final decision is expected by the end of the year.

“I fell hard for Monty and Rose, the first piping plovers I ever met, and I can now bring my love and passion to their offspring and kind,” Tamima Itani told WTTW News.

Illinois Beach State Park in Zion on the state’s northern border contains about 10% of Illinois’ Lake Michigan shoreline, with 6.5 miles. But the undeveloped shoreline can erode up to 100 feet per year.

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

Scientists calculated the biomass of various groups of mammals, and humans’ impact weighs heavily on the planet.

Barring any last-minute court decisions, the Greater Rockford Airport Authority will soon resume construction on its cargo expansion project, bulldozing a portion of ancient Bell Bowl Prairie in order to carve out a new roadway.

The deadly white-nose syndrome is threatening the northern long-eared bat — one of Illinois’ 13 native bats — with extinction. The race is on to find a cure and protect what’s left of the population.

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.