For Amy

This post contains links to information requested by Amy. Everyone else, feel free to scroll on down to Steve's Podcast Extravaganza.

2006 Illinois Firearm Deer Harvest, by County
(via Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
*Good numbers, but they don't include deer killed by bow.

2005-06 Illinois Public Hunting Areas Report
(via Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
*Tons of charts and graphs showing hunting statistics for all different species. All info is in pdf format. Gives info like "total number of hunting trips" and "deer harvest by bow" for all the public hunting areas in the state. The downside is that it only gives data for public hunting areas, and doesn't include private land, which is the vast majority of the state. Also, the charts aren't particularly well-designed, and some of them are hard to read.

Managing Illinois' Deer Population
(via Illinois Country Living Magazine)
*Nice article written by the Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Outlines IDNR's goals for the deer population and how they're trying to reach them. Unfortunately, the whole thing is 10 years old.

Deer Dilemma
(via University of Illinois)
*Short news article detailing possible deer overpopulation, specifically in Robert Allerton Park. This is a single case study, not a statewide view.

Illinois Deer-Vehicle Accidents, 1989-2003
(via Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
*Stats showing a steady rise in deer-vehicle collisions over 14 years. Could mean that the deer population is on the rise, and perhaps too large. Could also mean that the vehicle population is on the rise, and perhaps too large.

---
That's all I've got. It was surprisingly difficult to find a simple chart of the state deer population from year to year. If I was doing this paper, my next step would be to contact the Illinois Department of Natural Resources directly. This is their website:

dnr.state.il.us

Showing that there are a lot of deer in Illinois will be easy, but proving that there are too many deer in Illinois will be harder. Your student will have to dig up some numbers from a biologist about the ideal deer population. Again, I'd start with IDNR.

Good luck to your student. I'd be interested in the results of the endeavor.