|
Summer
2000
| Letters
from Photographers |
Where
Have All the Flowers Gone?
Trillium
as a barometer of the health of our woods
|
May
1995. Photo by Doug Sherman.
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May
2000. Photo by Doug Sherman.
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Chicago
WILDERNESS has received many letters and photographs that
document the loss of this region’s inspiring spring
flora.
The
Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity
Recovery Plan and many scientific studies confirm that
our forests face a triple threat. First, invasive species
are replacing our rich biodiversity. Second, most woods
do not receive the prescribed burns that could help protect
against the invasions. Third, in many cases over-abundant
white-tailed deer are grazing more heavily than the ecosystem
can tolerate.
The
subject of deer control was treated in some detail in the
Winter 2000 issue of Chicago WILDERNESS (see "Prey
Without a Predator: Deer and the Ecosystem"). The
large-flowered white trillium is an especially visible indicator
of a fundamental problem. Repeated grazing destroys them
and a great many other species that are less visible. With
the trilliums go the butterflies, beetles, frogs, birds,
and all the other species dependent on a healthy woodland
ecosystem. The letters that follow, and the photographs
they describe, are not from trained professionals. They’re
from members of the public that love our preserves. We found
them compelling.
May
1997
To
the Director of the Forest Preserve District of Will County
Dear
Sir:
I
am an attorney in Chicago and on my "free-time"
I make photographs of America’s wild and scenic places
with a large format camera... Many of my photographs have
appeared in calendars, note cards, and books published by
The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and Audubon. I am writing
to you about a highly distressing situation that has come
to my attention over the past two years regarding Messenger
Woods, namely the likely eradication of white trillium.
Each
spring for the past seven years I have visited Messenger
Woods to make photographs and simply enjoy the spectacular
display of woodland wildflowers, especially the white trillium.
I have photographed and viewed wildflowers in many of America’s
wild and scenic places and the spring display at Messenger
Woods rivals wildflower displays in this nation’s famous
areas such as Antelope Valley, California, Organ Pipe National
Monument, Arizona, and Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington.
Messenger Woods is a little known national jewel. Last spring,
for the first time, I noticed that the trillium were being
eaten by deer... The places that were eaten by deer last
year lacked trillium this year.
I
am not an expert in wildlife or wilderness management but
simply a spectator and artist...I do know, however, that
the trillium display at Messenger Woods is one that cannot
be matched anywhere. The trillium represent a biological
heritage of our country that should not be destroyed...I
simply wish to bring this issue to your attention because
in a couple of years it is very likely that there will be
no more trillium at Messenger Woods. I hope and trust that
this issue will be promptly discussed by the powers that
be. Time is of the essence.
Cordially,
Joseph
S. Kayne
cc:
Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine
May
2000
Dear
Forest Preserve District of Will County,
Recently,
I made my annual pilgrimage to Messenger Woods in Will County
to marvel at, and photograph, the large flowered white trillium,
blue-eyed Marys, and Virginia bluebells. This year my heart
sank. There were hardly any trillium.
I
considered trying to duplicate trillium photographs of prior
years to show the subsequent disappearance of the flora.
But I was so distraught by the degradation that I couldn’t
bring myself to take a picture.
A
friend of mine suggested that fencing could protect the
flowers from the deer. But the wilderness experience would
be destroyed. It would simply be like viewing flowers in
a zoo.
I
urge you to control the numbers of deer in Messenger Woods.
A priceless heritage is slipping away.
Joseph
S. Kayne
cc:
Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine
May
5, 2000
To
Chicago WILDERNESS,
Here
are some images I took last week showing the effect of deer
eating trillium at Messenger Woods.
I
vividly remember my first excursion to Messenger Woods.
It was in the spring of 1995, when a friend of mine, another
photographer, shared his knowledge of this special place
with me. Photographs, which I had seen of this woodland
floor carpeted with spring wildflowers, had prepared me
for a glorious experience, but even the best of those distinctive
photographs could not have prepared me for the vastness
of the beauty that I encountered that day. The sight took
my breath away.
Masses
of Virginia bluebells carpeted the lowlands along the bank
of a stream that meandered through the northern half of
the park. In some areas the bluebells gave way to a carpet
of blue-eyed Marys. Then, as we worked our way north, the
large white trillium began to appear. First they were interspersed
in the carpet of blue-eyed Marys and then they formed their
own carpet as the terrain sloped up into the highlands.
I
sat on a log for quite some time drinking in the sight of
the acres of trillium that surrounded me.
Each
spring since then I have returned in late April and early
May to insure that I would not miss the current year’s
display as it reached its peak. As the years have passed
I hardly noticed that those once-carpeted acres of trillium
in Messenger Woods were shrinking. What was once a carpet
had become just a series of throw rugs. Had I been too busy
enjoying what was present to notice what was absent? Had
the leafless and flowerless stalks gone unnoticed as I searched
out the best specimens to photograph? Suddenly, those eaten
stalks literally stared me in the face as I focused my lens.
As I looked through my viewfinder, I counted one flowering
plant with eight eaten stalks beside it. That sight caused
me to look around and estimate the ratio of eaten plants
to those that were whole; it was clear that the devastation
I was seeing was large in scale. Plants were literally disappearing
before my very eyes.
I
know that trillium are a more relevant topic for the Spring
issue, but I think that the sooner we can show the devastation,
the more likely someone will take heed. It will soon be
too late — if it isn’t already.
Pat
Wadecki
Response
from the Editors:
Over-population
of deer has long been a problem for the conservation lands
of Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties. Conservationists overwhelmingly
support measures to control the numbers of deer, but elected
officials have to contend with the fact that urban culture
has no easy place for such policies. Rural people recognize
abundant deer as "game" to be "harvested."
Urban
and suburban people need also an understanding of predation
— and some form of it — in our own "wilderness"
culture. Apparently, as the photographs show, the problem
is spreading to Will and other counties, as suburban development
makes traditional hunting impractical.
Be
clear: The problem is not development itself. Actually when
farmland is converted, as is typical, to a combination of
housing and preserves, there’s a substantial net gain
in habitat for deer. The consensus among ecologists is that
the problem is the lack of predators.
Whether it be human hunters, wolves, or mountain lions,
some sort of predator is a necessary part of any ecosystem
with large grazers. Too many deer for the ecosystem is a
major challenge for all the region’s landowners. We
need to develop the necessary policies and capacities to
restore the balance.
Response
from Bruce Hodgdon,
Will County Forest Preserve District
The
Forest Preserve District of Will County has been studying
deer browse at this and other preserves. Chicago WILDERNESS
will report on their results in a future issue.
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2006 Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Inc.
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