The sharp “bob-white!”  call of the northern bobwhite quail used to be the sound of summer in the central and eastern U.S. Now this song is fading as this once common grassland bird’s populations grow ever smaller. All across North America bird populations are rapidly declining, due in large part to habitat loss. Connecting landscapes across North America’s largest watershed will help bobwhite and other bird species.

You might have never heard of Blanding’s turtle, but they are certainly aware of humans. These endangered turtles could once be found all across the Midwest, lower central Canada, and up over into New York. However, roads, dams, wetlands loss, pollution, and other human activities have severely impacted these gentle animals. Throughout the Mississippi River watershed reptiles and amphibians are struggling. Connecting waterways, wetlands, and floodplains can help these species survive.

In 2022 we lost the iconic P-22, a mountain lion that taught us the importance of connected habitat. Mountain Lions are protected in California, but in many Midwestern states, it is legal to shoot these beautiful animals on sight. Help us protect mountain lions and reconnect vital habitats for these amazing cats and all other wild mammals.

These beautiful polka-dotted fish like clear, cool waters and gravel-bottomed waterways. While these stream characteristics were once fairly common throughout the Midwest, pollution, stream straightening, dams, and other human activities have reduced the amount of available habitat for brook trout and other fish species that need access to cold and clean water. Good habitat for these species still exists, we just need to provide connectivity so populations can interbreed.

Each spring hunters across the Midwest head to the forest to find their elusive prey, the morel mushroom. These mushrooms are highly sought after for their delicious flavor, so much so that morel hunting has become a time-honored tradition. But these culinary delights play an important part in their forest ecosystem. Underground a vast network of mycelium symbiotically supports tree roots, recycling their leaves into nutrients the trees can reuse. These mushrooms are an important part of ecosystem cohesion, and as their populations increasingly come under pressure from habitat loss and climate change we may start to see the morels disappear. We must rewild and reconnect the Midwest if we hope to continue our outdoor traditions.