Winter 1998

Oh Dear
Photograph taken at Goose Lake Prairie State Park by Joseph Kayne of Deerfield, IL. Words by Stephen Packard.

The plant in the foreground tastes bad. Silhouetted against this deer are the dried stems of tall boneset — a plant that tells us the land we see here was, not long ago, a cow pasture. Cows don't eat tall boneset. Poor, overgrazed pastures often consist largely of plants that cows don't eat. But now this land is part of Goose Lake Prairie Nature Preserve. A goal of Illinois Nature Preserves is much like a goal of Forest Preserve Districts, that is, to preserve, protect, and restore the ecosystem in its "natural state." But what restores a "natural" state?

Healthy ancient ecosystems are complex balances among animals and plants. For eons, deer ate trilliums, white-fringed orchids, and — in winter — shrubs and saplings. Predators ate the deer. This region abounded in deer and oaks and orchids.

But now, in the absence of mountain lions, wolves, and human hunters, deer in some preserves have become so overpopulated that our ancient ecosystems are passing away. "Preserves" become pastures of plants that deer don't eat. This young buck (notice those bumps?) is a fine and beautiful animal. But fine and beautiful animals out of balance can destroy many other fine and beautiful things. The return of some form of predation is a high priority for tens of thousands of acres of conservation lands.

Notice what this deer is eating. The branch being pulled into his mouth (see that bit of pink tongue?) has been chomped down again and again and again. Check out all those trimmed and retrimmed resprouts. On sites with badly overpopulated grazers, the young trees of many species, especially oaks, gradually die out in the shade of uneaten, bad-tasting trees. In this case, a prairie preserve with brush invasion as a major threat, the deer are actually helping control some of the brush. Unfortunately, studies have shown that these same deer are also having a devastating effect on many species of the prairie flora (and, of course, on animals that depend on those plants). Thus, tall boneset thrives, but the orchids and lilies fade. In the long run, wolves, mountain lions, or hunters of one kind or another are the precondition for survival of the natural richness of ancient nature.