Tell the Mayor Bird Protection is Not Optional
Photo by Robyn Detterline
An estimated tens of thousands of birds are killed or injured in Chicago every year. Since 2016, Bird Friendly Chicago (BFC), an alliance of birding and conservation groups in Chicago, has been working to address this alarming issue.
In 2020, Chicago’s city council approved a directive to the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to prioritize bird friendly building design as part of the city’s Sustainable Development Policy. BFC spent the next four years working closely with DPD to craft comprehensive bird-friendly design standards to be included in the revised Sustainable Development Policy.
As the spring of 2024 approaches, the DPD has yet to implement the prioritization of bird friendly design and is now contending that it cannot make bird safety mandatory in its building approval process and will simply include bird-friendly design measures as optional. This is unacceptable.
As city officials have backpedaled and delayed, migration seasons have come and gone as they have for generations with predictable time tables and predictable results. Countless thousands of birds visited Chicago where they were killed or injured, and new buildings have been built, which ensures future loss of life for the lifetime of those buildings.
What Chicago Must Do
The DPD must implement mandatory bird friendly building standards in its updated Sustainable Development Policy, scheduled for release on April 15.
If we are to achieve this goal, we need members of the public to step up and make their voices heard. Your support is the key to stopping the avian mortality that’s become all too familiar in our city. To focus our collective efforts, BFC has two specific actions anyone can take.
Action 1: Let the DPD know this is important via their survey. Complete this survey and rank #13 (Bird Protection) as "Very Important." Then, leave a comment in section 15.
Action 2: Using the following template, email Mayor Brandon Johnson and copy Cristina Pacione-Zayas, his chief of staff; Ciere Boatright, head of the DPD; and Angela Tovar, head of the Department of the Environment. Please personalize your letter by including one or more critical talking points about window collisions in Chicago, or by including your unique concerns about this issue. Remember to keep your letter respectful.
To: letterforthemayor@cityofchicago.org
CC: ciere.boatright@cityofchicago.org; Cristina.Pacione-Zayas@cityofchicago.org; angela.tovar@cityofchicago.org
Subject: {insert your own subject line}
Dear Mayor Johnson,
The deaths of tens of thousands of native birds in our city are preventable.
Please make the bird-friendly provisions in the sustainability checklist mandatory.
{Personalize your letter, perhaps by emphasizing one or two critical talking points.}
Your name and address
City Hall has the power to make a difference. The mayor and his staff need to know that this is not only a huge issue, but one Chicagoans care about. We encourage you to email them, and ask your friends to do the same. Amplify the message via social media and tag @chicagosmayor.
As long as birds continue to die from window collisions in Chicago, we will not stop demanding better.
Looking to go further? Volunteer to lend your expertise to Bird Friendly Chicago! If you or someone you know is looking to get involved, our team is looking for volunteers. Email info@birdmonitors.net with your areas of interest and experience to get started.