12/17/2020 Update: The site steward met for an hour with Cathy Breitenbach, Director of the Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources to discuss the habitat addition. Cathy said the issue would "remain open" and under consideration. She pledged to consult and discuss the proposal with the principals involved.

Here’s a way that you can make a big difference for bird local habitat! CAS supports the Montrose stewards’ great idea to add the Piping Plover nesting/foraging area ("fluddle" and Bank Swallow colony) to Montrose Beach Dunes and grant it formal protection. The request was made to the Chicago Park District (CPD) at two site meetings and the District is considering it now, but they need to hear more feedback from the local community. With that in mind, we ask that you please take some time over the next few weeks to send personal letters and messages supporting the habitat addition to the four top officials listed at this link. This will positively impact the conservation of the dune habitat for birds, plants, and other animals

The proposed habitat addition would extend from the western edge of the fluddle south to the stone wall at the sidewalk, roughly forming a rectangle. It is delineated by the Piping Plover protection fencing that was in place earlier this season and is basically a continuation of the existing western habitat protection fence south to the rock wall. The area encompasses the habitat used during the most critical phases of breeding, brooding, and rearing of the Piping Plover chicks.