Who could possibly be opposed to protecting native plants?
That’s the question that has volunteers buzzing at LaBagh Woods on Chicago's Northwest Side, where a mysterious dismantler of protective fencing has been hard at work in recent weeks, undoing hours of work and exposing native shrubs to the ravages of hungry deer.
About 60 fences have been removed, some within 24 hours of installation, and the Chicago Ornithological Society is appealing to the public for help in identifying whoever is responsible.
“In a very short time, a lot of our plants have been so damaged — and in some cases annihilated,” said ornithological society board member Katy Krigbaum. “We put the fencing back up, but they’ll just go in and take it back down again. The person (who is doing this) is very determined.”
The shrubs are part of a massive volunteer effort at LaBagh, one of the city’s top birding locations, and the site of a rare broad-billed hummingbird sighting in 2021.
Over the past eight years, volunteers with the Forest Preserves of Cook County have planted 4,000 native shrubs at LaBagh, with help from the ornithological society, which has raised over $85,000 for the plants and protective enclosures.
The native plants at LaBagh provide food and habitat for birds, many of which are in decline.
“LaBagh is an important migratory bird stopover site,” Krigbaum said. “It’s sort of the last stop for birds heading south — after that they hit the city.”
Photos on LaBagh Facebook pages show towering blue herons, cherry-red tanagers, lemon-yellow warblers, and sapphire-blue indigo buntings, as well as coyotes, mink, ducks, herons, snakes and raccoons.
The person who is creating problems in this urban oasis appears to be “on a mission to eliminate fencing,” said Krigbaum.
“That’s of course my interpretation,” she said. “It’s a parlor game trying to figure out what the real motivation is.”
The fences have been taken down in different parts of LaBagh, and just north of the site, at the Forest Glen Woods forest preserve, she said.
At first, the fences, which are wire and light enough to be removed by one person, were folded in rectangles and leaned carefully against the poles that once held them up. But when volunteers reinstalled the fences, the response was less polite. The dismantler stomped on the poles, leaving them bent and unusable, and the fencing was moved away from the plants.
Forest Preserves of Cook County police have assigned a detective to lead an ongoing investigation, the forest preserves said in a written statement.
Officers have focused increased attention on LaBagh and began dedicated foot patrols on Oct. 17. There are also plans for temporary signs at LaBagh and Forest Glen Woods highlighting the purpose of the fencing, and its importance to the health of the preserve.
Forest preserve police said to call 708-771-1001 if you have information or see anything suspicious.
Krigbaum said that a Sunday planting that drew 40 volunteers was canceled due to concerns that the fences would be taken down and the plants destroyed by deer. The 54 plants involved were moved to a volunteer’s home, where they will spend the winter.
That was a setback, but Krigbaum said the volunteers will persist.
“I think it’s one to two people,” she said of the fence dismantlers. “We just can’t let them undo all our hard work.”
