A pair of piping plovers nested on Wisconsin Point in Superior this summer, marking the first time in 49 years that the endangered shorebirds have bred in the St. Louis River estuary.
The nesting site was created as part of a collaborative habitat restoration project involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, St. Louis River Alliance, and EPA. The project, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, cost $4.5 million.
The habitat was constructed in 2019 from 87,000 cubic yards of clean dredged material from the Duluth-Superior Harbor navigation channel. The material was placed on Wisconsin Point Bird Sanctuary, a state-owned property, creating 14 acres of new nesting and foraging habitat with features needed for piping plover breeding.
The protected property is closed to the public from April 1 to August 24 during the nesting season to prevent disturbance to nesting birds, eggs, and young. The site closure is monitored and enforced by the Wisconsin DNR.
"The news of a piping plover pair nesting here is a very significant milestone for this site," said Matt Steiger, DNR St. Louis River Area of Concern coordinator. "The habitat project that made this possible is an excellent example of how we can collaborate in a working harbor to restore endangered species habitat."
The Great Lakes piping plover population reached record numbers this year with 99 breeding pairs and at least 160 wild chicks fledged, according to the DNR. Wisconsin Point is now one of only four sites in the state with nesting piping plovers, collectively hosting 12 breeding pairs that produced 14 fledged young in the wild and four in captivity. The other sites are the Apostle Islands and two locations in lower Green Bay.