Natural Resource Restoration

Prescribed Fire

Along with other restoration activities, prescribed fire is applied to areas to accomplish specific conservation goals. Fire was a natural process that was stopped by the settlement of the county. Fire actually shaped the habitats that were originally found in Macon County. The lack of fire has allowed nature to become out of balance and invasive exotic species to displace native plants.

Since 1978 Macon County Conservation District has been using prescribed fire to restore conservation areas. Our staff is very careful when it comes to prescribed burning. They will carefully choose the exact location, dates and times based on specific weather conditions. A key goal is to keep smoke from blowing toward homes and highways. If you have special concerns or other questions about our prescribed burning please contact us: mccd@maconcountyconservation.org or 217/423-7708.

When will we be burning? Depending on weather conditions, we prescribe burn areas in the early spring (March through mid-April) and late fall/winter (November through December).

Deer Herd Management

White tailed deer are an important part of Macon County’s natural areas. Like many native species they are beautiful and have a place in the ecosystem. But in many of our high quality conservation areas their numbers are so high that habitats are becoming unbalanced. Deer are large plant eaters and consume a great number of plants. As a result, their high numbers are reducing the native plant and animal populations including endangered species. Additionally, natural predators of deer such as mountain lions and wolf were eliminated from our county in the early days of settlement with no hope of returning. In their absence deer populations are able to grow unchecked.

To maintain a balance between the deer population and other species the Conservation District has initiated a limited archery hunting program. Monitoring takes place of deer habitat and their numbers so over harvest will be avoided.

Can we let nature take its course? The unfortunate reality is we may never be able to “let nature take its course”. The high reproductive capability of deer (each doe can have two fawns); lack of natural predators and limited suitable habitat mean deer numbers can become unmanageable to a point of jeopardizing themselves and communities they inhabit.

The Conservation District’s archery deer hunting program generally starts the first part of November and runs through the end of December. For more information about the Deer Herd Archery Program please contact us at 423-7708.

Exotic Species Removal

You may see changes take place at Macon County Conservation District areas. As part of an effort to improve or restore natural habitat we may be removing exotic and invasive species of plants. Exotic species are those plants and animals that are from somewhere other than Macon County. Many of the problem exotic plants that we see in the conservation area are from Europe and Asia. Some of these exotics are very invasive and take over choking out native plants and displacing the animals that depend on those native plants for their survival. Removing exotic species is done by cutting, herbiciding or prescribed burning.