Changes to deer season

<p class="p1">The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, IDNR, announced changes to the 2014-15 deer hunting season last week, including removal of 20 additional counties from the late-winter season and a reduction in the number of firearm permits available in some counties.</p><p class="p2">"Solid science is the basis of our deer program," IDNR director Marc Miller said. I disagree.</p><p class="p2">The key factor in the "solid science" is deer-vehicle accident data which is badly flawed and inaccurate. IDNR admitted so at a meeting last year in Springfield.</p><p class="p2">Deer-vehicle accidents are not legally mandated to be reported. No report is needed for insurance repair purposes. One Southern Illinois sheriff's department writes no such reports unless the vehicle is disabled. And, unfortunately, many vehicles are not insured and the owners would never report such an accident.</p><p class="p2">The decision seems more random than science.</p><p class="p2">The late-winter antlerless deer hunting season brings needed revenue to many counties in the state. It has recreation and tourism value. And, it harvests additional deer which potentially decrease the number of deer-vehicle accidents, but there is no way to prove it. </p>