Therefore, in the fall of 2004, a deer management program was initiated at Allerton in the form of a brief archery hunt to reduce the size of the herd. For the 2004 Allerton archery hunt, all hunters were required to harvest one antler-less deer before they were permitted to shoot a buck. During the seven-week hunt, 69 deer were harvested on the south side of the Park, of which only 12 were antlered. Following the hunting season, an additional 25 antler-less deer were harvested from the north side of the Park by means of sharp-shooting. Meat from deer harvested by sharp-shooting was donated to local food banks and homeless shelters.

Deer hunting at Allerton Park was permitted again in the fall of 2005 with a nine-week archery hunt on the south side of the river and a three-day shotgun hunt throughout the Park. Applicants were required to pay a $25 application fee, pass an archery or shotgun proficiency test and, as in the previous year, to harvest an antler-less deer before harvesting an antlered deer. Hunter turnout was exceptional. Many hunters spent vacation time hunting at Allerton and many came down from their trees only to eat and sleep. In addition to the antler-less requirement, Allerton hunters were required to follow specific rules that included having their names on all of their arrows, not using any flagging or marking tape, and not using any screws or nails on any of the trees they hunted from.

In February 2005, 669 deer were counted in the Allerton Park survey area. About a year later, in March 2006, 290 deer were counted. Not only has the deer management program at Allerton been successful in reducing the deer population, but the number of vehicle collisions with deer on the adjacent county roads has been reduced from 22 in 2004 to only 11 in 2005.

The deer management program is closely tied to research programs examining deer health and assessing ecosystem regeneration. To ascertain deer health, all deer harvested at Allerton in the fall of 2004 through the winter of 2005 were tested for diseases such as chronic wasting disease, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, tuberculosis, and epizootic hemorrhagic disease. To gain an understanding of the impact of deer on natural areas, numerous deer exclosures have been constructed throughout the Park.

Large exclosures are planted with oak and hickory seedlings and are paired with a control planting outside of the exclosure. Smaller exclosures have been placed over patches of wildflowers that are commonly damaged by deer to monitor the growth and reproduction of wildflower species as they are released from browsing pressure. In the summer of 2005, a research project was initiated to document the abundance of deer ticks and Lyme disease in the Park and their relationship to white-tailed deer density. Current deer research at Allerton is the most significant research on deer in central Illinois since the early 1980s.

Deer management at Allerton Park will continue in the fall of 2007 with another season of archery hunting and a limited 3-day (November 16, 17, 18) shotgun hunt. For 2007, hunters will not be required to pay any monetary fee, however bow hunters will be asked to donate a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer service to Allerton in exchange for hunting privileges.

As has been the case in the past, the Allerton hunt will require the closure of some of the Allerton hiking trails. If you are planning on making a trip to the park this fall, please call ahead (217-244-1035) to find out which trails will be affected by the hunting activities.