TEAM UNSTABLE MESSAGE BOARD

[Eazy E]

Will County is looking for volunteer sharpshooters to cull female deer from five of its forest preserves.

The aim is to reduce the number of deer to between 20 to 30 per square mile. The Will County Forest Preserve District estimates that's anywhere from 332 to 406 deer.

Using their own rifles, applicants will be required to hit a 1.9-inch circular target at 50 yards five times with only five attempts allowed. Applicants also will have to pass, among other things, a criminal background test and a drug-screening test.


While government-led deer eradication efforts are sometimes controversial, officials said they've become crucial to improving the overall health of the herd, protecting threatened trees and plants, and reducing the types of vehicle crashes that have become all too common in Chicago's suburbs,So delicate is the balance of life in the forest preserves, officials say, that the snacking habits of deer can profoundly alter the natural environment for countless species.


In Will County, among the fastest-growing counties in Illinois over the last decade, officials have spent tens of millions of dollars to acquire land for forests preserves and densely wooded public parks. Those 20,000 acres now provide shelter and an increasingly scarce supply of food to thousands of white-tailed deer that have adapted masterfully to their new urban environment.


Though white-tailed deer are native to much of the northern U.S., habitat changes and near-unlimited hunting in the late 19th century pushed the deer to the brink of extinction in Illinois, said Marty Jones, urban deer project manager at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The state banned deer hunting for 50 years, which, combined with other conservation efforts over the last century, brought white-tailed deer back in a big way.

Anyone wanting to apply must pick up an application from police offices at Illinois Highway 52 and Cherry Hill Road beginning 8 a.m. Monday.

The shooting will be done at night when the forest preserves are closed from December through March.

The forest preserves (and estimated number of deer to be killed) are McKinley Woods (113-114), Lockport Prairie (17-22), Messenger Woods/Messenger Marsh (61-83), Sandridge Savanna/Kankakee Sands (32-50) and Goodenow Grove/Plum Valley (109-137).

The forest preserve board approved the kill in September.

"We believe that this is the best method to deal with the number of deer we have now," said Marcy DeMauro, executive director of the Forest Preserve District, during the period of debate.
_________________
Nation Wide Is In The House

[ChromeDome]

Clicked on the webpage from teh parks department. Just to clarify, this for Illinois residents only. Great for some, bummer for us "Indianers"

[fulldrawfisher]

dang... i was looking for the sign up sheet