County rebukes deer activists

Thursday, March 16, 2000

The Deerfield Review (Lake County, Illinois)

By Steve Zalusky

Pro-deer activists received a stinging rebuke from Forest Preserve President Carol Calabresa at Tuesday's Forest Preserve Commission meeting.

The activists spoke during the public comment period that followed an otherwise non-controversial meeting in which commissioners congratulated themselves on a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, a land swap with the Lake County Board and the purchase of 56 acres in Warren Township.

The group accused the Forest Preserve District of failing to live up to its claims that deer are humanely killed in the District's Deer Management Program.

Barrington resident Greg Campbell said at noon on Feb. 15 he went to Ryerson Woods with a friend, where he encountered a bloody trail across the middle of a walking path. He compared the blood, which he claimed was "quite vivid in three inches of snow," to the amount gushing from an arm that had been sliced open.

Campbell claimed he showed a Pioneer Press reporter the scene.

"I know what I saw. I know what a reporter from Pioneer Press saw. Somebody's covering up. I'm a taxpayer in Lake County. I'd like to get some answers."

Campbell was followed to the podium by Steve Hindi, who confirmed Campbell's story. Lincolnshire resident Don Terry displayed six photos, allegedly from the scene, and offered a video tape ot commissioners.

Terry was about to play a tape of hat it sounds like when a deer is shot, when Calabresa, who had limited public comment to three minutes, cut him off. However, Terry's wife Davida played the tape, which she said was made In DuPage County's Greene Valley Forest Preserve.

The last word was reserved for Calabresa, R-15th. She detailed the history o the deer management policy, tracing its roots to a 1992 Forest Preserve Commission decision.

She accused the activists of stirring up a ruckus to advance their cause politically.