Decline and Recovery The Midwest launched its own release programs in the 1980s under the coordination of the Raptor Center in Minnesota. The Chicago Peregrine Program began in 1985 as a cooperative effort between the Chicago Academy of Sciences, Lincoln Park Zoo, Illinois Department of Conservation, and Illinois Audubon Society. From 1986-1990, the Peregrine Program released a total of 46 Peregrines from four different hack sites. The goal was to help re-establish Peregrines on a regional basis in the Midwest, with the hope that some birds would return to Illinois to breed. This regional falcon dispersal can be seen through the identity of our adult Peregrines. Over the years, Illinois-based birds have originated from nest sites located in Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. When population levels in the Midwest finally began to rise, the focus of Peregrine programs shifted from releasing birds to monitoring nesting pairs. Illinois has now progressed from having only a single breeding pair at the Chicago-Wacker site in 1988, to ten breeding pairs in 12 different territories by 2003. continue >>