Welcome to the lake front you never knew!

Lake Michigan. One of the largest fresh water lakes in the world and an engine that has driven, and in some cases still does, the growth of its many surrounding communities. Lake Michigan is also home to a tremendous diversity of wildlife both within its waters and on its coasts. For most of us in the Chicago region a free and public lake front has more or less always been there and we tend to take it for granted. On top of this the dominant habitat type, dunes, are popularly percieved as just big heaps of sand. This blog is about that slice of Chicago Wilderness which is Lake Michigan and the wonderful gifts of nature it contains both just beyond the waterfront and beneath the surf.

If you've been to any of these locations or would like to recommend/request a location for me to go and check out, please do speak up and comment on any post!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Different Directions (Part 1 of 4)

7/2/11

       I should start off by saying that perhaps doing a blog post about this location is a little unfair. Montrose Beach bird sanctuary (also called the magic hedge) and dunes. Unlike every other site I’ve gone to and subsequently written about, I have already been here many times. I have thoroughly explored both the flora, the fauna, and the habitat in general. I’ve actually seen the dunes shift due to the frequency of my visits. Not only that, but I have a pretty deep personal attachment already in place since a great deal of my first time and life sightings of both animals and plants has occurred here. And on top or all this, it also one of the most well documented natural areas within the Chicago Park District system and most of the info is readily available.

So why write about this place?

       Well, just like the other dune restoration projects I reviewed on the south side of the city, it does deserve some time in the light of this blog. But on top of that, I can also safely say this is one of the most gorgeous, amazing, biologically diverse, and easily accessible sites you can visit right in the heart of this metropolis. It is also the first such attempt at turning a public municipal beach into a sanctuary of this sort and its success is the model for all other dune projects undertaken within the city. It deserves to be brought to your attention.
To Be Continued

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