| 12/5/2006 Illinois Firearm Deer Harvest Totals 115,192
The preliminary second-season (Nov. 30-Dec. 3) harvest total was 29,117, compared with the second-season harvest of 37,158 last year. This year’s revised preliminary first-season (Nov. 17-19) deer harvest was 86,075 compared with a first-season harvest of 77,051 in 2005. The figures include deer harvested in the 98 counties in which firearm hunting is permitted and deer harvested on state sites where special permits are issued. Preliminary harvest reports for the 2006
firearm season show that the largest single county total was
“The ice, snow and wind from the storm last Thursday and Friday contributed to a significantly reduced second season firearm harvest compared to last year,” said Paul Shelton, manager of the IDNR Forest Wildlife Program. “We remind hunters who had permits but didn’t take a deer that unfilled firearm and muzzleloader-only permits will be valid for next month’s Late-Winter Antlerless-only Firearm Deer season if the permits are for one of the counties open for the January season.” Counties that will be open for the Late-Winter
season Jan. 12-14, 2007 are: Adams, Bond, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll,
Cass, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham,
Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry,
Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Knox, LaSalle,
Lawrence, Lee, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Massac, McDonough, McLean, Menard,
Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Peoria, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Richland,
Rock Island, Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair,
Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash,
Hunters in Boone, McHenry, Ogle and Winnebago counties and the portion of DeKalb County north of the East-West Tollway can participate in a special Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Deer Season Jan. 12-14, 2007 to help control deer densities and the spread of chronic wasting disease. Special CWD season antlerless-only permits will be available beginning Dec. 11 for $5 each at participating DNR Direct license and permit vendors. In addition, hunters with unfilled 2006 firearm, muzzleloader or archery deer permits valid for one of the CWD-season counties may use those permits to hunt during the CWD season. Hunters using unfilled permits from the 2006 firearm, muzzleloader or archery season during the CWD season may take deer appropriate for that permit (antlerless-only or either-sex). Harvested deer must be taken to one of the county check stations during the CWD season in those open counties; hunters may not use the automated (telephone or internet) check-in system. At the check station, hunters that allow IDNR biologists to sample their deer for CWD testing will be given an either-sex permit free of charge, valid for the remainder of that season. Deer hunters in most downstate counties register their harvest through the DNR Direct harvest reporting system by going online or phoning a toll-free number to report their harvest. Harvest figures from the first segment of this year’s firearm season have been revised after the discovery of a data reporting error involving hunters who phoned in to register the harvest of more than one deer during a single phone call. When the actual number of deer registered through those calls were included, this year’s preliminary first-season deer harvest total increased from 78,177 to 86,075. The table below includes corrected preliminary county harvest totals for the first portion of the 2006 firearm deer season, the preliminary county firearm harvest totals for the second portion of the season, the 2006 preliminary county harvest totals for the entire seven-day season, and the comparable county harvest totals for 2005.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||