[BCNnet] better habitat coming in DuPage

[Robbie Hunsinger]

Dear BCN,
A little off topic I know but, I am aware that there was a trial program in
alternative deer control - does anyone know about how this went?

I believe there was a test program for implanting a birth control medication
in female deer ( similar in delivery to the under the skin birth control
medication that came out several years ago for women).

I think they tried the deer birth control project maybe on the North Shore
somewhere -  Heller FP maybe?

It seems like it wouldn't be any more trouble initially, and it would save
lots of time, work hours, and $ in future years (not to mention saving 150
deer from getting shot each year).  Shooting female deer with a tranquilizer
instead of a bullet and implanting the medicine seems highly preferable to
the current approach.

If anyone has any contacts or info on the deer birth control program or
other alternatives I would be very interested.

Thanks,
Robbie

> --------------------
> DuPage forests OK more deer culling
> --------------------
> 
> By Lynn Van Matre
> Tribune staff reporter
> 
> November 5, 2003
> 
> A controversial deer culling program at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, near
> Darien,
> is likely to be stepped up under a measure approved Tuesday by the DuPage
> County
> Forest Preserve District Commission.
> 
> By a 5-2 vote, commissioners affirmed an ordinance that directs forest
> preserve 
> staff to control white-tailed deer populations in district preserves "based
> on evidence of damage, population trends, current scientific knowledge and
> best 
> management practices as recognized by wildlife professionals."
> 
> Passage of the ordinance, originally adopted in 1992 but more or less
> overridden
> in 1997 when commissioners voted to limit deer kills at Waterfall Glen to 50
> animals
> a year, effectively lifts cull limits. Earlier this year, commissioners
> approved
> culling an additional 50 white-tails at Waterfall Glen in response to
> burgeoning
> deer populations.
> 
> Current staff estimates call for 170 deer to be culled at Waterfall Glen and
> nearby
> Wood Ridge Preserve during the 2003-04 season, which typically begins in
> December
> and ends in March. Cull figures for other preserves have not been made final.
> 
> In a presentation last week, district animal ecologist Scott Meister told
> commissioners
> that escalating numbers of deer that are overgrazing were having a negative
> impact
> on plant communities at the preserve.
> 
> Though culls take place throughout the district, in recent years Waterfall
> Glen 
> has attracted the attention of animal activists who argue that too many deer
> are
> being taken from the preserve, one of the district's largest.
> 
> In a discussion preceding the vote, Commissioner Joseph Cantore described
> himself
> as "on the fence" and said he would like to see quantitative data on ecosystem
> problems caused by deer.
> 
> Commissioners Marsha Murphy and Wally Brown, both of whom voted against the
> measure,
> also said they would like to see more figures on deer-related damage. But
> Brent 
> Manning, district executive director, said staff findings could be easily
> quantified
> and that the deer management program was "true ecological science."
> 
> Deer are killed at night by sharpshooters from the U.S. Department of
> Agriculture's
> Wildlife Services Division. Carcasses are processed into ground venison and
> provided
> to area food banks and pantries.
> 
> Representatives of two conservation groups spoke Tuesday in support of the
> program.
> 
> Brook McDonald, chief executive officer of the Naperville-based Conservation
> Foundation,
> said he has observed a decrease in plant diversity in Waterfall Glen as deer
> herds
> have increased.
> 
> "I don't know what the right number is, but [culling] 50 deer a year isn't
> working," he said.
> 
> Robert E. Fisher, president of the Chicago-area Bird Conservation Network,
> noted
> that deer management was vital to maintain biodiversity.
> 
> "We don't want to see our preserves become biological junkyards, populated
> only by overcrowded, starving deer and invasive plants," Fisher said.
> 
> Speaking out against the ordinance was environmental activist Linda Painter of
> unincorporated
> Hinsdale, who said Waterfall Glen had been "hit hardest" by culls and
> urged commissioners to vote no on the resolution.
> 
> 
> Copyright (c) 2003, Chicago Tribune
> 
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