SEPTEMBER 21, 2004 ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT VICTORY PRESS RELEASE!

SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 Wisconsin Radio Network Story on Hines Victory

The Hine's Emerald dragonfly is the rarest and only federally endangered dragonfly in the United States. Currently, the Hine's Emerald is known to exist in only seven small sites within Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in northern Illinois, six sites in Door County, Wisconsin and a few scattered sites in Michigan and Missouri. Historically, this beautiful species was also found in Indiana and Ohio. The Illinois habitat for this dragonfly is found primarily along the Des Plaines River drainage. Formerly known as the Ohio Emerald dragnonfly, the Hine's Emerald is believed extinct in Ohio. The species' status in Indiana is uncertain with the last adult specimen collected and documented on June 22, 1945 in Gary.

In Illinois, the species relies upon rare wetlands found on limestone bedrock, and shallow, spring-fed streams that drain into wet meadows and cattail marshes. In Wisconsin, the Hine's Emeralds require small, calcareous, marshy streams and associated cattail marshes on dolomite bedrock. The Hine's emerald dragonfly is threatened primarily by habitat destruction and modification. Protecting the Hine's Emerald's home will also help to reduce flooding, protect over 70 other rare species and maintain cleaner water. Unfortunately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to designate Critical Habitat, a step that doubles the likelihood of recovery and is required by the Endangered Species Act.

October 30, 2003 Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0310300320oct30,1,2988129.story

October 30, 2003 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/oct03/181390.asp