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<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:normal'>From Sunday’s
Sun Times<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:normal'>If you missed the
Wild Things Conference, you did MISS a great day of events. Kudos to all
involved. Here’s the first report I’ve seen and it’s just the
type of information we want the general public to remember.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:normal'>Randi Doeker<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:normal'>Chicago –
Cook Co.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Oak is truly a tree for the birds <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:italic'>February 27, 2005</span></font></i><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>BY <a
href="mailto:dnewbart@suntimes.com">DAVE NEWBART</a> Staff Reporter <o:p></o:p></span></font></b><!-- Empty line is needed --></p>
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><!--publication CST --><!--pub_section NWS page 18 last modified 2/26/05 9:55 PM--><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Like birds?
Plant an oak or elm tree. Those maples may be beautiful -- but birds aren't
impressed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>That's what researchers found when
tracking which trees are preferred by the tens of millions of birds that fly
through <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>
each spring. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The researchers tracked birds in
April and May for three straight years at 18 sites around the <st1:City w:st="on">Chicago</st1:City>
area, including along the <st1:place w:st="on">Chicago River</st1:place> and
near Brookfield Zoo. They discussed the results of their as-yet-unpublished
study at the Wild Things Chicago Wilderness Conference on Saturday at <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Northeastern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Illinois</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>They found that oaks were by far the
most popular trees, preferred by such birds as the Baltimore oriole, the
Tennessee warbler and the rose-breasted grosbeak. Oak trees grow their leaves
relatively early in the spring and play host to a variety of insects. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><!--startsubhead--><b><font size=3
face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Spread
beyond native areas</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>"Oaks are the most important,''
said study co-author Doug Stotz, a conservation ecologist at the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Field</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
But they are being crowded out by maples, which produce more seeds and grow
faster. With no natural fires to clear them out, maples have spread to areas
beyond their native areas along riverbanks and ravines, he said. They can
sprout up below oak trees and prevent new oaks from taking root. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Maples are used less by birds
because they grow their leaves way too early in the spring and do not host as
many insects, Stotz said. However, because maples do host birds later in the
year, they should be allowed to grow -- but only in their native areas.
"You need diversity,'' he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Judy Pollock, projects coordinator
for Audubon Chicago Region, said the study should help city planners and Park
District workers decide which trees to plant, and it suggests that some maples
should be cleared from non-native areas to promote oak growth.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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