|
The preliminary second-season (Dec.
4-7) harvest total was 39,780, compared with a second-season harvest
of 34,902 in 2002. This year's preliminary first-season (Nov. 21-23)
deer harvest was 64,181, compared with a first-season harvest of
67,921 in 2002. The figures do not include deer harvested during
hunts on state sites where special permits are issued.
"We are very pleased with the results
of the firearm deer hunting season. It was a very safe one, with
very few accidents reported during first season and none reported
during second season," Brunsvold said. "A lot of hunters were
excited about the new regulation allowing the use of handguns during
the firearm season.
"Thousands of hunters voluntarily
participated in our chronic wasting disease surveillance effort,
allowing our biologists to collect samples from deer at check
stations. The cooperation of hunters in battling CWD is so
important, and our hunters in Illinois came through once again."
More than 4,000 tissue samples were
collected from hunter-harvested deer at check stations in 36
counties during the firearm season. The samples are being tested for
the presence of CWD, a fatal neurological disease that can affect
deer and elk but is not contagious to humans or livestock. CWD cases
thus far have been found only in three counties in northern Illinois
(Boone, McHenry and Winnebago).
Preliminary check station harvest
reports for the 2003 firearm season show that Pike County led the
state with a total harvest of 4,043, while Adams County was second
with 2,951. Logan County had 409.
"The preliminary harvest figures would
rank this firearm season as the highest on record, surpassing the
total of 103,142 taken during 1995," said Paul Shelton, forest
wildlife program manager for IDNR. "After unseasonably warm weather
for the first weekend of firearm deer hunting, colder weather with
rain, snow and fog were reported in much of the state during the
final four days of the season. While harvest did not meet
expectations during the first season, hunters appeared to do well
with the more typical late autumn weather this past weekend."
Approximately 288,000 firearm permits
were issued to deer hunters in Illinois this year.
The
muzzleloader-only deer hunt in Illinois is Dec. 12-14, while the
handgun-only deer hunt in selected Illinois counties will be Jan.
16-18. The statewide archery deer hunting season resumed Dec. 8 and
continues through Jan. 15.
Preliminary county harvest totals for
the 2003 firearm deer season
|
County |
2003 Second Season
Preliminary Harvest |
2003 Preliminary
Total Harvest |
2002 Total Harvest |
|
Adams |
961 |
2,951 |
2,737 |
|
Alexander |
156 |
357 |
366 |
|
Bond |
312 |
927 |
1,013 |
|
Boone |
134 |
303 |
259 |
|
Brown |
657 |
1,452 |
1,623 |
|
Bureau |
607 |
1,510 |
1,287 |
|
Calhoun |
675 |
1,553 |
1,524 |
|
Carroll |
384 |
1,140 |
977 |
|
Cass |
331 |
959 |
786 |
|
Champaign |
99 |
269 |
227 |
|
Christian |
211 |
603 |
568 |
|
Clark |
505 |
1,225 |
1,190 |
|
Clay |
523 |
1,419 |
1,424 |
|
Clinton |
335 |
930 |
917 |
|
Coles |
245 |
671 |
639 |
|
Crawford |
461 |
1,202 |
1,236 |
|
Cumberland |
227 |
772 |
741 |
|
DeKalb |
151 |
302 |
306 |
|
DeWitt |
118 |
343 |
314 |
|
Douglas |
57 |
184 |
214 |
[to top of second column in
this article] |
|
Edgar |
232 |
684 |
679 |
|
Edwards |
202 |
655 |
596 |
|
Effingham |
333 |
980 |
982 |
|
Fayette |
754 |
1,992 |
2,134 |
|
Ford |
58 |
139 |
116 |
|
Franklin |
469 |
1,151 |
1,171 |
|
Fulton |
911 |
2,372 |
2,298 |
|
Gallatin |
220 |
638 |
678 |
|
Greene |
801 |
1,805 |
1,789 |
|
Grundy |
174 |
445 |
378 |
|
Hamilton |
570 |
1,412 |
1,402 |
|
Hancock |
767 |
2,034 |
1,910 |
|
Hardin |
304 |
986 |
1,025 |
|
Henderson |
301 |
829 |
713 |
|
Henry |
338 |
828 |
789 |
|
Iroquois |
313 |
683 |
606 |
|
Jackson |
794 |
2,182 |
2,608 |
|
Jasper |
391 |
1,138 |
1,209 |
|
Jefferson |
871 |
2,223 |
2,333 |
|
Jersey |
465 |
1,098 |
1,006 |
|
JoDaviess |
833 |
2,361 |
2,148 |
|
Johnson |
515 |
1,625 |
1,760 |
|
Kankakee |
83 |
195 |
218 |
|
Kendall |
62 |
176 |
130 |
|
Knox |
587 |
1,496 |
1,277 |
|
Lasalle |
471 |
1,326 |
1,149 |
|
Lawrence |
292 |
805 |
812 |
|
Lee |
302 |
839 |
725 |
|
Livingston |
210 |
534 |
460 |
|
Logan |
160 |
409 |
367 |
|
Macon |
96 |
263 |
259 |
|
Macoupin |
825 |
2,097 |
2,105 |
|
Madison |
363 |
1,088 |
1,115 |
|
Marion |
719 |
1,903 |
1,970 |
|
Marshall |
218 |
731 |
586 |
|
Mason |
216 |
537 |
567 |
|
Massac |
241 |
619 |
594 |
|
McDonough |
402 |
976 |
929 |
|
McHenry |
264 |
615 |
570 |
|
McLean |
287 |
715 |
716 |
|
Menard |
249 |
600 |
539 |
|
Mercer |
431 |
1,002 |
873 |
|
Monroe |
399 |
1,075 |
1,195 |
|
Montgomery |
549 |
1,359 |
1,337 |
|
Morgan |
530 |
1,271 |
1,221 |
|
Moultrie |
63 |
181 |
172 |
|
Ogle |
533 |
1,224 |
1,186 |
|
Peoria |
545 |
1,358 |
1,292 |
|
Perry |
649 |
1,714 |
1,819 |
|
Piatt |
60 |
158 |
180 |
|
Pike |
1,564 |
4,043 |
3,691 |
|
Pope |
596 |
2,065 |
2,130 |
|
Pulaski |
280 |
712 |
738 |
|
Putnam |
183 |
521 |
440 |
|
Randolph |
905 |
2,212 |
2,534 |
|
Richland |
352 |
916 |
932 |
|
Rock Island |
362 |
877 |
726 |
|
Saline |
309 |
845 |
889 |
|
Sangamon |
381 |
804 |
790 |
|
Schuyler |
707 |
1,629 |
1,710 |
|
Scott |
285 |
668 |
682 |
|
Shelby |
435 |
1,143 |
1,129 |
|
Stark |
128 |
1,029 |
1,270 |
|
St. Clair |
437 |
296 |
232 |
|
Stephenson |
481 |
1,095 |
1,024 |
|
Tazewell |
267 |
687 |
758 |
|
Union |
662 |
1,706 |
1,880 |
|
Vermilion |
342 |
747 |
772 |
|
Wabash |
145 |
381 |
397 |
|
Warren |
240 |
630 |
612 |
|
Washington |
331 |
1,310 |
1,504 |
|
Wayne |
671 |
1,734 |
1,689 |
|
White |
471 |
1,126 |
1,117 |
|
Whiteside |
345 |
868 |
767 |
|
Will |
131 |
271 |
260 |
|
Williamson |
628 |
1,534 |
1,696 |
|
Winnebago |
263 |
582 |
575 |
|
Woodford |
308 |
932 |
838 |
|
Total |
39,780 |
103,961 |
102,823 |
[Illinois Department
of Natural Resources
news release] |
