Wild Things 2023 Conference: Glorious gamut from poaching in forest preserves to queer ecology

The Wild Things 2023 Conference drew thousands of outdoor sorts.

By Dale Bowman

The trophy non-typical buck that frequented a small forest preserve in Cook County. It drew international interest and disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

I’m not sure what to make of “Queer Ecology in Practice” and “The Phantom Menace” being the most packed sessions I attended Saturday at the Wild Things 2023 Conference in Rosemont.

Maybe it’s the eclectic nature of Wild Things or of me. If you work in, volunteer in or enjoy the outdoors, attend the next Wild Things as thousands did this year.

John McCabe, director of the department of resource management for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, calls poaching in the FPCC, “The Phantom Menace,” “because we don’t know how much is going on.”

I’ll tackle “Queer Ecology” another day.

McCabe highlighted a buck, which achieved international fame — a Facebook group had millions of hits — in 2016 at a forest preserve in western Cook County with its massive non-typical rack and drop tines.

That bizarre story included having an illegal deer-feeding station that looked like a cattle feedlot. (I wish feeding bans were enforced more.) So shed hunters — whitetails shed antlers annually — and do-gooders protecting the buck were watching the freak every day, easy with the feeding station. My column about the buck then is posted here.

McCabe put the value of the freak sheds at $10,000 (a friend thought $20,00 more likely) and a mount with the antlers about $100,000.

The FPCC eventually stepped in, closing the park until wildlife staff anesthetized the buck, then removed the antlers. The buck, 3 years old, was fitted with a tracking collar. When the collar stopped moving, it was found in water. The buck and its new antlers weren’t found.

That’s a glamorous case. Considering Cook is the second most populous county in the United States, no wonder preserves are under pressure from poaching on many levels. Collecting ramps or mushrooms is mundane in itself, not in preserves of a county with 5 million residents.

John McCabe addressing hundreds Saturday at a seminar on poaching in the Forest Preserves of Cook County during the Wild Things 2023 Conference in Rosemont.

It’s a unique time with shed hunting peaking, then hunting ramps and morels likely to start early.

Removing or killing most things is prohibited in the preserves. Poaching deer is well known. Less known poaching is collecting snakes, reptiles and amphibians. Telltale signs are cover boards or somebody carrying a sack and a snake hook.

There are illegal archeological digs and collecting of artifacts. If you find artifacts, let them be, take a photograph and get a location, then notify the FPCC.

Use of personal trail cameras and metal detectors is also illegal.

A sort of reverse poaching—releasing pets or live-trapped wild animals—in the preserves is also prohibited.

McCabe hopes FPCC can put escalators into ordinances to better deter repeat offenders.

Best McCabe said is to be cautious on social media, including when reporting rare plants or animals on apps. Remove location data if posting a photo.

He suggested: 1) Be vigilant. 2) If safe (don’t play Rambo), take a photo of the individual and their license plate. 3) Report to FPCC police at (708) 771-1000.