(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Activists in west suburban Geneva are protesting a development plan that would lead to the removal of several old-growth trees.
“It's very sad and, quite frankly, it's disgusting,” Brian Maher said.
He was one of several activists who sat atop cutting machines hoping to stop the removal of bur oak trees near Kirk Road and Fabyan Parkway.
"When I took a ride out there and saw a giant piece of equipment chopping oak trees off, two feet above the ground, it seemed like the right thing to do,” he said.
Oak Brook-based Midwest Industrial Funds wants to develop the area as industrial park, but Maher says he thinks the removal could be violating a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Several questions remain about the particulars, he said.
Construction would eliminate about 75 bur oak trees, some that are as old as 300 years, Maher said.
"All we have left are these little pockets of old-growth trees that do so much, between biodiversity, the number of animals that are supported by oak trees alone. It's just amazing.”
WBBM Newsradio sought comment from Midwest Industrial Funds and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Related
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram