Community Spotlight: Deer in my yard could illuminate bigger issue James Grandone Contributing Columnist FacebookTwitterEmail Deer are visiting my neighborhood and I wondered why they have chosen to arrive now. That led me to look into the destruction of habitat in and around the region caused by building millions of square feet of buildings — lots of banks and other commercial and residential developments. I thought that environmental activists would be a good place to start. What I found out was surprising. Bob Gill has been a volunteer lobbyist for the Sierra Club for the past 15 years, and lived in Edwardsville for more than 25 years. He is very familiar with the area and its rapid growth. But Gill didn’t decry the destruction of habitat. He said the biggest problem in our area is stormwater.