SubCommittees

Deer Committee

Dredging

Fish/Wildlife

Flora Land/Aquatic

Lake Monitoring Committee

Paths/Greenways Lake

Trails

Mailing Address

Apple Canyon Lake Property Owners’ Association
14A157 Canyon Club Drive
Apple River, Illinois 61001
Phone (815) 492-2238
Fax (815) 492-2160

http://www.applecanyonlake.org/

Deer- Are there just enough at ACL or are there too many?

Deer are a natural part of the countryside.

They are one of natures graceful creatures.

There is a debate at our lake though as to how many are just right and what is too many?

A new Deer committee has been formed to decide what to do about the deer population- see below

Deer Characteristics
The white-tailed deer is tan or brown in the summer and grayish brown in winter. It has white on its throat, around its eyes and nose, on its stomach and on the underside of its tail. The male has antlers. Males weigh between 150 and 300 pounds and females weigh between 90 and 200 pounds. A deer's home range is usually less the a square mile. Deer collect in family groups of a mother and her fawns. When a doe has no fawns, she is usually solitary. Male bucks may live in groups consisting of three or four individuals, except in mating  season, when they are solitary.
The white-tailed deer lives in wooded areas. In some areas, deer overpopulation is a problem. Gray wolves and mountain lions used to be predators of the white-tailed deer and helped keep their population under control. But because of hunting and human development, there are not very many wolves and mountain lions left in some parts of North America.

Sometimes a bobcat or a coyote will kill a young deer, but people and dogs are now the deer's main predator. Because there are not many natural predators, deer populations can sometimes grow too large for their environment and deer can starve to death. In rural areas, hunters help control deer populations, but in suburban and urban areas hunting is often not allowed and deer populations can grow out of control.

It surprises some newcomers to Illinois to learn that for much of the first half of the century, whitetail numbers were so low that the state prohibited deer hunting. It wasn't until 1957, they learn, that Illinois reopened its deer hunting season.

Since then, Illinois' deer population has increased to its current level, which is estimated to be about 800,000. There are both positive and negative aspects to having a white-tailed deer population of that scale, and the Department of Natural Resources is constantly striving to achieve a proper balance for the state's herd.

Restriction of hunting. Nobody wants someone shooting at deer near their kids. Not surprising, then, much of the area in which deer populations are growing most rapidly has been declared off limits to hunters. Removing their only significant predator - hunters - allows deer populations in suburban areas to grow unchecked.

So how do you decide if there are too many in Apple Canyon Lake

Studies should be performed on the number of deer

The rate of vehicle impact

Impact on vegetation

Health of the deer

for more information you can Contact Harold Bathum  email: gb3867@jcwifi.com