Shifting Sands Of Time

Two Small Dunes That Have Formed At Montrose Beach Are Creating An Urban Habitat For Rare Plant Species That Last Graced Chicago's Lakefront Decades Ago.

December 03, 2000|By Jeff Long, Tribune Environment Writer.

A shallow Lake Michigan and "benign neglect" by the Chicago Park District have helped create small sand dunes at Montrose Beach--a habitat for rare plants that haven't been seen for decades in Chicago.

The city's baby dunes are examples of what the lakeshore looked like before people arrived and began shaping it to their own needs. Experts say it's like looking back in time.

The shifting sands are small, almost inconspicuous, compared to their huge cousins in Indiana. But make no mistake: That 6-foot mound at the southeast tip of Montrose Beach is a dune. And so is the smaller one, a foot or two tall, forming nearby.

But the dunes aren't just piles of sand. Nature is taking root as well, and the rare plant species coming up are forcing officials to shake up the way they think about these natural formations.

Growing among the dunes at the North Side beach are sea rockets, which are on the Illinois threatened species list; marram grass, or dune grass, which is on the endangered list; and lakeshore rush, which hasn't been seen on the Chicago lakefront in more than 50 years.

Species such as sandbar willows and cottonwood trees are appearing, plants normally associated with dunes.

"This is like a germination of history," said Barry Burton, lakefront planning coordinator for the Park District.

Now a debate is under way about how close the public should get to this significant area. The Park District put up a temporary fence in the summer to separate the dunes from the rest of the beach during a volleyball tournament, and it wasn't taken down until just recently.

Some people want the fence to be replaced with something permanent, Burton said. And some are trying to get federal recognition for the new habitat so it can be protected and studied.

"We have proposed that it be set off with a rectangular fence marked `No Access,'" said Jim Landing, conservation representative for the Ft. Dearborn chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society.

Park District officials say they want to preserve the area but haven't decided how to go about it.

Burton said he doesn't like the idea of fencing off even part of a public beach. Yet, he said, putting a fence around the dunes to keep out people and dogs may be the best solution.

Leslie Borns, a volunteer with the Bird Conservation Network, discovered the lakeshore rush as she walked along the beach last fall. She couldn't positively identify it until the plants flowered in the spring.

It's a common plant elsewhere, but not in Chicago. Officials say the plant, also known as Baltic rush, hasn't grown along the city's lakefront since 1946. Borns has counted 65 clumps of the 2-foot-tall rushes among the dunes.

Borns would like to see some signs planted, identifying various species and educating people about the dune habitat that's springing up.

"It started out small, with just a few plants," she said. "But the cool thing is it just grew and grew and grew."

In a growing dune habitat, marram grass usually appears first. Its long roots intertwine into a kind of latticework for sand to catch on and begin to pile up.

"They help stabilize the sand, keeping it from blowing away," said Susanne Masi, a research botanist at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.

The first dune, at the back of the beach, began growing about six years ago and is 6 to 8 feet tall.

"It's being affectionately called `Mt. Montrose,'" said Cameron Davis, executive director of the Lake Michigan Federation.

The smaller, knee-high dune in front of Mt. Montrose has been forming for about a year.

"To have something like this in an urban area is fantastic," Masi said. "It's really special. It's kind of exciting to see a natural dune formation taking place in an urban area."

The unkempt portion of beach might not look like much to the casual sunbather, but dunes make a nice sanctuary for tired migrating birds.

"Good bird habitat is messy," said Charlotte Newfeld, chairwoman of the parks committee of the Lakeview Citizens Council. "That's rule No. 1."

Bird Conservation Network volunteers also hope shorebirds visit the dunes.

"They use these plants on the beach for cover," Borns said. "I'd like to see the area protected and preserved. These dune systems that are emerging are very fragile ecosystems."

Even if protected, the dunes can't be counted on to stay put. "They move a lot," Davis said. "They shift. They don't stay in one place."

Ironically, the dunes may have gotten started because part of the beach was neglected by Park District caretakers, Burton said. Like in a neighborhood lawn that hasn't been mowed, nature began taking over.

"Nature is very easy to understand," Borns said. "It just happens. The Park District's benign neglect of the area allowed these things to take hold."

Another factor is the low water level in Lake Michigan. The lake is shallower than it has been in years, which means more beach and more room for dunes to grow.

The seeds for lakeshore rush, sea rockets and dune grass may have lain dormant for decades under the water.