Flyover Census

Each year, the Environmental Restoration Group commissions a flyover census of the deer population in Beverly Shores. At one time, the town of Beverly Shores appropriated funds to support the census, but with the town's difficult financial situation, the cost falls to ERG. In the last few years, Ogden Dunes has asked to be included in the area counted and has paid the marginal costs for that addition.

The flyover census is taken before the spring birthing season so the number underestimate the year's deer count by some amount. The chart below shows that even the understated numbers from the census consistently exceed the upper-bound target for deer numbers in Beverly Shores. ERG aims for a deer population of 15 per square mile, the target maximum for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Beverly Shores itself is about one square mile, but with its surrounding area, the census covers roughly two square miles. Thus the target deer population density, 15/mi² yields a maximum target population of 30 animals.

The numbers graphed above are shown in the following table:

Flyover Date	In Town	Around Town	Total
March 2, 2010	44	51	95
March 28, 2011	37	39	76
February 12, 2012	25	19	44
March 22, 2013	38	68	106
January 22, 2014	54	30	84
March 17, 2015	28	27	55

The figure and table above provide clear evidence of the need for ongoing efforts to bring the Beverly Shores area deer population to environmentally sustainable numbers.