Table 5, - Estimated acreages of woodland occupied and unoccupied by deer in nine southern Illinois 
counties, 1949-50.* 
C Bottomland Mixed Hardwoods Pin Oak Flats Upland Hardwoods 
ounty Unoccupied Occupied Unoccupied Occupied Unoccupied 
Alexander 18,208 -- 3,813 -- -- By Si/3} 
Gallatin 1553) 21,305 40 327 4,813 9,709 
Hardin 3,296 -- -- -- 26,382 -- 
Jackson 6,286 14,668 1,806 = 10,571 SIL PRY) 
Johnson 9,124 -- = -- 27,549 -- 
Massac 3,283 8,293 847 963 779 11,180 
Pope 515) -- 1,310 | -- 62,637 -- 
Pulaski - 15,738 2 | -- -- 4,603 
Union L733 =< 1,460 -- 1,609 60,643 
Total 59,442 60,004 9,276 1,290 134,340 174,735 
*The cover type classifications used in this table are modifications of classifications used in a 
forestry publication (Anonymous 1950). 
The new classifications were adopted after consultation with 
personnel of the University of Illinois Department of Forestry. 
Bottomland mixed hardwoods. -- Chief species: 
cottonwood, sycamore, ash, sweetgum, soft maple, 
elm, willow, hackberry, box elder, honey locust, water locust, pecan; white, cherry bark, and water oaks. 
Sites: varies from well-drained alluvial lands to well-drained primary and secondary bottomland. 
Pin oak flats. -- Chief species: pin oak, soft maple, elm, hickories, and sweetgum. Frequently stands 
are nearly pure pin oak. Sites: poorly drained level lands. 
Upland hardwoods. -- Chief species: red, white, and black oaks, hickories, maples, yellow poplar, 
beech, ash, blackgum, andsweetgum. Sites: hilly regions, coves, upland claypan areas, and stream margins. 
Table 6. - Deer population and distribution 
as reported by conservation 
trends in Illinois, 
officers in counties of the state, 1949-1951. 
Counties | Counties 
eee Counties Counties Reporting| Reporting 
Reporting Reporting) Deer Deer 
Deer Increases Decreases 
1949-50 102 62 35 3 
1950-51 102 68 | 32 2 
showed that the deer density in the outlying areas 
was much lower than that found in the vicinity of 
the Rock River. 
The pattern of subsequent censuses was es- 
sentially the same as that of the first, but, as the 
area covered was much more extensive, the results 
are not thought suitable for comparison. The 
subsequent surveys included range in De Kalb 
and Lee counties as well as in Ogle and Winne- 
bago counties. 
In each of the censuses made in February, 
1949 and 1950, and December, 1950, the airplane 
was flown in overlapping circles, 200 to 350 feet 
above individual woodlots, until it was felt that 
all the deer below had been seen and recorded, 
table 7. These surveys were not undertaken until 
tls snow depth exceeded 3 inches, because old 
deer beds in snow of less depth could not be read- 
ily distinguished from deer actually bedded down. 
Both two-place and four-place Piper Cub air- 
planes were used in these surveys. The slower- 
flying two-place plane permitted more intensive 
scanning of the ground; thus, this type of plane 
was thought more suitable than the faster four- 
place model. 
An observer performed the censusing duties; 
the pilot aided in locating deer, as opportunities 
permitted. 
The flying time required to complete each of 
these surveys varied between 12 and 18 hours, 
depending on the amount of range flown. As may 
be seen in table 7, the range surveyed varied 
between 63 and 83 square miles, but virtually all 
the deer counted in the three surveys were seen 
in the 63 square miles flown in February, 1949, 
and December, 1950. 
Figures in the last column in table 7 were 
arrived at by assuming that only 66 per cent of the 
deer in the region were seen from the air. This 
correction factor was derived, during the February, 
1950, census, by comparing counts made from the 
air with counts made from manpower drives in four 
widely scattered woodlots. Sixty deer were tallied 
from the air, whereas 91 were countedin the drives. 
The accuracy of the figures obtained from these 
small samples was questioned; however, since no 
other data were available from which to derive a 
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