WNIJ news – Illinois Firearm Deer Season Nov. 19-21 and Dec. 2-5
Illinois Firearm Deer Season opens this weekend Friday through Sunday, Nov. 19-21 and concludes Dec. 2-5. More than 370,000 permits have been issued so far. For information on remaining permits, check the IDNR website at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/Deer.aspx. Legal hunting hours for the firearm deer season are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
Successful hunters in most counties must register their deer through the IDNR website at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/HarvestReporting.aspx or by phoning 1-866-IL-CHECK (1-866-452-4325) no later than 10 p.m. on the day they take the deer.
Firearm deer hunters in Boone, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties must take their deer to mandatory check stations by 8 p.m. on the day they harvest a deer. Biologists will sample adult deer for chronic wasting disease (CWD) to determine areas of infection and prevalence rates. The check station locations are:
Boone County: Boone Co. Fairgrounds, located one-half mile north of Rt. 76 and Business Rt. 20, Belvidere
DeKalb County: Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona
Grundy County: Gebhard Woods State Park; 401 Ottawa St., Morris
Kane County: Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona
LaSalle County: Buffalo Rock State Park, three miles west of Ottawa on Dee Bennett Rd.
McHenry County: Moraine Hills State Park, McHenry Dam day use area, east of McHenry on River Road, 2.2 miles south of Rt. 120
Ogle County: Castle Rock State Park, Rt. 2, three miles south of Oregon
Stephenson County: Stephenson Co. Fairgrounds, one mile east of Rt. 26 and Fairgrounds Road, Freeport
Winnebago County: Rock Cut State Park (hunters should utilize the Hwy 173 entrance and follow the signs)
Hunters who participate in the CWD sampling can check the status of their deer through the IDNR web site at http://dnr.state.il.us/cwd/. Hunters who provide samples from deer that test positive are notified by the IDNR.
While not believed to be contagious to humans or livestock, chronic wasting disease is known to spread from animal to animal among deer and elk. The disease affects the brain of infected animals, causing them to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose coordination and eventually die. Illinois expanded its CWD surveillance effort in 2002 following the discovery of the disease in neighboring Wisconsin.
For more information on Illinois deer hunting regulations, check the IDNR web site: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/Deer.aspx