Stop Bow & Arrow deer hunting at Illinois Beach State Park
- by: Pamela Crombie
- recipient: Chris Young, Illinois Department of Conservation
As of Nov. 1, 2015, for the first time in the history of the park and nature preserve, bow hunting of deer is being allowed at Illinois Beach State Park, North Unit.
State of Illinois 17 Adm. Code only allows animals to be killed in dedicated nature preserves because of over population. The DNR admits that a census of the deer has not been taken and exact numbers are not known.
Justifcation for the bow hunt? According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), deer are browsing native plants resulting in those plants becoming endangered or threatened.
The park is utilized on a daily basis by citizens and visitors to the area, who walk, hike, birdwatch both on and off designated trails. Currently, visitors are witnessing hunters dragging dead deer on the trails, hunters are bragging about how the deer are unafraid of humans, there is blood on the vegtation and trails, and the hunters are leaving partially "dressed" deer carcasses near the trails.
Hunters are seen carrying long bows with arrows into the park where families are out for an afternoon walk. It is not safe for wildlife or humans. It is just a matter of time before someone is seriously injured. The decision for this hunt did not take into consideration the safety of public, and should any injuries occur, those in goverment who authorized it will be held accountable.
The IDNR has authorized this hunt under spurious and unsupported data. It needs to stop now.
Dear Director Rosenthal:
The bow hunt that has been planned by your department needs to be canceled immediately.
Your department organized this hunt without the knowledge of the local village officials, without consulting with them as to the necessity of this hunt, and without the knowledge of the citizens of this community who utilize this park every day. By village ordinance, hunting is illegal in Winthrop Harbor.
Under the Illinois Natural Areas Protection Act your department is required to justify any killing or taking of wildlife from this area. Your department has used a 2014 study contracted to outside special interest researchers, and paid for by IDNR, to support this hunt. The 2014 Study supplied in the FOIA request is woefully lacking in factual evidence and very misleading.
There does not appear to be any problems with the deer in this area, speaking as someone who lives in the area and observes it on a daily basis. Our property is surrounded by the nature preserve. There are fewer deer now than there were three years ago. This "study" was obviously a basis in order to allow hunting in this area in our protected nature preserve.
The "study" is misleading in that all data comparisons were for Region 1, however, Illiinois Beach State Park north unit is in Region 2. There is no data at all regarding Region 2 or comparative nature preserves. There is nothing definitive in the data from that study that supports the killing of the deer in our protected nature preserve or the risks presented by this bow hunt to the rest of the community.
I urge you to cancel this bow hunt immediately.
Sincerely,
Pam Crombie
On a positive note, FOIA requested data indicates that there has not been a census of the number of deer in Illinois Beach State Park.
Another plant study by the IDNR during the spring and summer of 2014 indicates contradictory results that show no deer browsing.
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