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Hunters head into the field this weekend
SPRINGFIELD, IL- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) expects nearly 200,000 hunters in the field this weekend as the 2006 firearm deer season opens across Illinois. Over 335,000 permits have been issued for this year's season, which is a slight increase over last year.
"Illinois enjoys a nationwide reputation for having an outstanding, quality deer herd," said Acting IDNR Director Sam Flood. "The seven-day firearm season is our most popular hunting season and we're looking forward to another good year when hunters take to the field this weekend."
Last season, hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 114,209 deer during the seven-day firearm deer-hunting season. The preliminary harvest total compared with the record-setting harvest total of 116,675 deer taken during the 2004 firearm season.
Hunters should enjoy decent weather conditions to start the season.
"The good news is that it looks like the wet weather will be over before Friday with some cloudiness remaining over the weekend," said State Climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey, a division of IDNR. "High temperatures will range from the low 40s in Northern Illinois, mid 40s in Central Illinois, and near 50 in Southern Illinois. Low temperatures will be in the upper 20s for Northern and Central Illinois, and around 32 in Southern Illinois. These temperatures are fairly close to normal for this time of year."
The first year hunters in most counties registered the deer they harvested by going online (www.dnr.state.il.us/vcheck) or by phoning 1-866-ILCHECK (1-866-452-4325) was 2005. Hunters in seven northern Illinois counties (Boone, Dekalb, Kane, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago) where IDNR is conducting chronic wasting disease
(CWD) testing are required to take deer they harvest to a county deer check station. Kane County hunters will check their deer in nearby DeKalb County.
Check station locations for the CWD Deer Season:
• Boone County - Boone County Fairgrounds, Rt. 76 and Business Rt. 20, Belvidere.
• DeKalb County - Shabbona Lake State Park, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona
• McHenry County - Sportsman's Choice, intersection of Routes 14 and 47, Woodstock.
• Winnebago County - Rockford Speedway, Hwy 173 at Forest Hills Rd.
• Ogle County - Castle Rock State Park, Rt. 2, 3 miles S. of Oregon
• Stephenson County - County Fairgrounds, Rt. 26 and Fairgrounds Rd., Freeport
While not thought to be contagious to humans or livestock, CWD is known to spread from animal to animal among deer and elk. The disease affects the brain of the infected animal, causing it to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose coordination and eventually die.
Illinois expanded its chronic wasting disease surveillance effort in 2002 following the discovery of CWD in neighboring Wisconsin. For updated information about CWD, check the IDNR web site at: http://dnr.state.il.us/cwd/index.htm. Hunters who participated in the CWD sampling can check the status of their deer at this site. Hunters who provided samples from deer that test positive are notified by the IDNR.
A county-by-county breakdown of last years state wide firearm deer harvest is below:
County Total
ADAMS 3051
ALEXANDER 445
BOND 1078
BOONE 281
BROWN 1585
BUREAU 1628
CALHOUN 1439
CARROLL 1148
CASS 967
CHAMPAIGN 307
CHRISTIAN 634
CLARK 1357
CLAY 1492
CLINTON 1019
COLES 770
CRAWFORD 1283
CUMBERLAND 848
DEKALB 355
DEWITT 437
DOUGLAS 255
EDGAR 719
EDWARDS 592
EFFINGHAM 1143
FAYETTE 2181
FORD 174
FRANKLIN 1440
FULTON 801
GALLATIN 623
GREENE 1804
GRUNDY 513
HAMILTON 1457
HANCOCK 2250
HARDIN 966
HENDERSON 836
HENRY 1002
IROQUOIS 737
JACKSON 2292
JASPER 1224
JEFFERSON 2637
JERSEY 1130
JODAVIESS 2366
JOHNSON 1744
KANE 90
KANKAKEE 266
KENDALL 135
KNOX 1683
LASALLE 1510
LAWRENCE 761
LEE 904
LIVINGSTON 577
LOGAN 491
MACON 312
MACOUPIN 2355
MADISON 1189
MARION 2096
MARSHALL 836
MASON 746
MASSAC 654
MCDONOUGH 1184
MCHENRY 564
MCLEAN 802
MENARD 586
MERCER 1058
MONROE 1219
MONTGOMERY 1460
MORGAN 1275
MOULTRIE 305
OGLE 1489
PEORIA 1600
PERRY 1596
PIATT 254
PIKE 3737
POPE 2044
PULASKI 711
PUTNAM 572
RANDOLPH 2533
RICHLAND 1083
ROCK ISLAND 953
SALINE 1045
SANGAMON 956
SCHUYLER 1889
SCOTT 728
SHELBY 1463
STARK 368
ST CLAIR 1176
STEPHENSON 1233
TAZEWELL 912
UNION 1881
VERMILION 977
WABASH 368
WARREN 811
WASHINGTON 1461
WAYNE 2002
WHITE 1214
WHITESIDE 1036
WILL 426
WILLIAMSON 1884
WINNEBAGO 691
WOODFORD 1048
TOTAL 114,209
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