Restoration Controversy

The future of LaBagh Woods on Chicago's Northwest Side is passionately debated in the community of Sauganash.

An article published in the Chicago Tribune on May 28, 2008 (Future of Northwest Side woods divides environmentalists into 2 camps) leans towards the opponents of restoration with these statements:

• Restoring prairie would mean "clear-cutting bushes and trees, a process known as restoration"
• The remaining woodlands in Northern Illinois are "the primeval landscape that greeted the first European settlers to arrive here"
• The Forest Preserve District "uses chain saws and fire to clear underbrush and what it dubs undesirable plant species from forest preserve lands"
• "If you cut down or burn something, where's the restoring?"
• Quotes from residents and an alderman including
• "It didn't take me long to find out that restoration is not good science..."
• "Didn't they ever hear of Darwin?.. Some species win, others lose; that's evolution"
• In reference to forest preserve officials - "I got the feeling they weren't being truthful with us, that they had an agenda..."

In Response: Melinda Pruett-Jones, the Executive Director of Chicago Wilderness responded with an excellent letter to the editor (not yet published?).

Your story about restoration in the Sauganash neighborhood (Future of Northwest Side woods divides environmentalists into 2 camps - May 29) asks, "If you cut down or burn something, where's the restoration?"

Natural area restoration has many benefits, though not all are immediately evident. Removing invasive plant species like buckthorn - which may be green but chokes out native plants and trees - allows native shrubs, plants, and wildflowers to flourish. Native trees like the iconic oak are able to germinate and thrive. The wildflowers support healthy populations of insects that feed many birds, while those same insect populations pollinate the flowers. Grasses produce seeds that are eaten by small mammals, which then become food for hawks and owls. In short, restoration efforts are supporting an entire ecosystem at work. Our goal is not to convert forests to prairies, but simply to protect the existing habitats that have been a unique part of our region for much longer than any of us.

To accomplish this, Chicago Wilderness members use scientifically-based management practices in which their employees and specially trained stewards and volunteers skillfully remove invasive species, carefully conduct controlled burns and apply limited amounts of herbicide directly to the stumps of invasive species to prevent re-growth.

Such practices have been universally accepted by leading conservation organizations in Chicago and around the world, including The Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Chicago Botanic Garden and the more than 220 additional member organizations that form the Chicago Wilderness consortium. Each of these respected conservation leaders recognizes the critical role restoration plays in order to ensure our natural areas remain healthy, vibrant and thriving with life. These are the qualities that make places like LaBagh Woods and other natural areas such a treasure for both people and nature.

As an organization that cares deeply for our region's wild places and believes a connection to healthy natural areas is vital towards enhancing the well-being of both people and wildlife, Chicago Wilderness and its members strongly support restoration efforts in the Sauganash area and throughout our region.

Melinda Pruett-Jones
Executive Director
Chicago Wilderness
8 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60603