WHITE-TAILED DEER POPULATIONS IN ILLINOIS* 
In recent years, the public has become more 
and more aware of increasing numbers of white- 
tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Boddaert), in 
Illinois, figs. 1, 2, and 3. The appearance of this 
deer in areas previously unoccupied within the 
memory of persons now living has been attended 
with keen interest and usually with enthusiasm. 
Once a herd of deer has become established, how- 
ever, and it has been found responsible for losses 
to crops and browse plants, the landowners con- 
cemed have often expressed disapproval and have 
requested assistance with its management. 
In response to complaints of landowners in 
critical areas, the Illinois Department of Conser- 
vation in 1942 initiated a program of trapping and 
redistributing nuisance deer. The action precip- 
itated questions as to (1) the effectiveness of the 
program in reducing destruction of field crops and 
woody plants, (2) the suitability of habitat in which 
teleases of deer might be made, and (3) the sub- 
sequent success of releases. The Department was 
concemed with the problem of determining whether 
this increasing game species should be hunted. 
Some sportsmen, the bow-and-arrow enthusiasts in 
particular, expressed the belief that deer numbers 
had reached such proportions in some areas of 
Illinois that a limited amount of deer hunting could 
and should be permitted. 
The need for answers to the above questions 
tesulted in the creation of a research project for 
deer. This project, undertaken by the [Illinois 
Natural History Survey in the fall of 1946, was 
continued until April 1, 1947, when the Illinois 
Natural History Survey and the Illinois Department 
of Conservation entered into a co-operative agree- 
ment concerning deer research and set up Illinois 
Federal Aid Project No. 33-R under terms of the 
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. The 
second project was terminated on June 30, 1951. 
The data presented in this paper were, with a few 
minor exceptions, collected during the life of the 
two projects. 
Lysle R. Pietsch7 
Acknowledgments 
The research involved in the deer projects and 
teported upon here was done under the direction 
of Dr. Harlow B. Mills, Mr. Willet N. Wandell, and 
Dr. Thomas G,. Scott, all of the Illinois Natural 
History Survey. Dr. Scott and Mr. James S. Ayars, 
Illinois Natural History Survey, contributed impor- 
tantly to the preparation of this manuscript for 
publication. Director Glen D, Palmer, Mr. Louis 
Martin, and Mr. Joe B. Davidson of the [Illinois 
Department of Conservation gave encouraging 
interest that was highly valued. Mr. Clayton C. 
Swears, Mr. Edward A. Fitzgerald, Mr. William 
Cloe, and Mr. William D. Carter, as employees of 
the Illinois Department of Conservation, contributed 
much useful data. 
The photographs were made by several staff 
members of the Department of Conservation and 
the Natural History Survey: Mr. Wandell and Mr. 
William E. Clark of the Survey, the author, and 
others. 
Thanks are due for helpful assistance by 
conservation officers in all parts of the state, 
especially for that of Mr. Paul Beebe of Ogle 
County; also for the friendly co-operation of 
farmers in the Rock River range, particularly that 
of Mr. Thomas E. Colloton and Mr. William I. 
Boetcher. 
Early Status 
When white settlers arrived in Illinois early 
in the eighteenth century, deer were common here, 
but probably not numerous. At that time the native 
vegetation consisted largely of extensive areas of 
two basic types of plant communities, the prairie 
and the hardwood forest. These, within them- 
selves, probably did not support an abundance of 
deer. Htwas where the prairies and forests merged, 
comprising the “edge,” and in the forest openings 
that deer were found in large numbers. 
A statement on the habits of Illinois deer by 
*/ This paper is based upon findings of Illinois Federal Aid Project No. 33-R, the Illinois Depart- 
ment of Conservation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Illinois Natural History Survey, 
co-operating. 
7/ Employed by the Illinois Department of Conservation under terms of the Federal Aid in Wildlife 
Restoration Act and assigned to the Illinois Natural History Survey for administrative and technical 
supervision. 
