Hunters Prepare For Second Firearm Deer Season in Illinois December 4-7

Hunters in Illinois Harvest 71,894 Deer During First Weekend of Firearm Deer Season

SPRINGFIELD , IL – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 71,894 deer during the opening weekend of the 2008 Illinois Firearm Deer season, Nov. 21-23, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Sam Flood announced today.  The second portion of the firearm season will be Dec. 4-7.  

The preliminary total for the first three days of the 2008 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 85,490 deer during the 2007 deer season.  The top county harvest total was in Pike with 2,194 deer, followed by Adams (1,900), Fulton (1,878), Randolph (1,770), and Jefferson (1,650).  The preliminary first-season figures reported for each county include those deer taken on special hunt areas within that county as well as on private land.

“Deer hunters in Illinois once again provided a good deer harvest for the first weekend of the firearm season,” said Flood.  “We offer some of the best deer hunting opportunity in the world here in Illinois , and the firearm deer season continues to be our most popular hunting season.” 

Illinois has issued approximately 350,000 firearm deer hunting permits for the 2008 season.  Most hunters register their deer harvest online through the IDNR web site or by phoning 1-866-ILCHECK (1-866-452-4325) by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest.  Hunters in Boone, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties take their deer to county check stations where IDNR conducts sampling for chronic wasting disease.

“The weather was unseasonably cold to start the season on Friday, but it appears many hunters were in the field enjoying some success on that day and throughout the first weekend of the firearm deer season,” said IDNR Forest Wildlife Program Manager Paul Shelton.  “Most corn had been harvested, although 10 to 12 percent remained in the fields in the northern part of the state.  

“The good news for managers and for deer hunters with permits remaining for the second season is that most of the decline in harvest was a drop in buck harvest,” Shelton added.  “This means that our doe harvest was fairly comparable to last year and that there are plenty of both bucks and does still out there for second season hunters.” 

Approximately 59 percent of the deer taken this past weekend were bucks, compared with 62 percent bucks taken during the first weekend of the firearm season in 2007.   

The Illinois firearm deer season concludes Dec. 4-7.  The muzzleloader-only deer season is Dec. 12-14.  The Late-Winter Antlerless-only firearm deer season and the Special CWD deer season are Jan. 16-18, 2009.  The state’s 2008-09 archery deer season continues through Jan. 15 (except closed in firearm counties during the second firearm season Dec. 4-7).   

The table below provides preliminary county harvest totals for the first segment of the firearm season and comparable figures for the first season in 2007.

County	2007	2008
Adams	2140	1900
Alexander	339	335
Bond	877	632
Boone	133	90
Brown	1135	996
Bureau	1205	1030
Calhoun	1036	889
Carroll	921	740
Cass	665	510
Champaign	272	195
Christian	574	466
Clark	1122	896
Clay	1177	998
Clinton	808	635
Coles	621	550
Crawford	950	831
Cumberland	693	654
DeKalb	213	136
DeWitt	320	303
Douglas	212	156
Edgar	608	555
Edwards	434	354
Effingham	923	795
Fayette	1684	1480
Ford	123	115
Franklin	979	827
Fulton	2003	1878
Gallatin	451	402
Greene	1209	989
Grundy	354	269
Hamilton	1036	901
Hancock	1698	1553
Hardin	907	780
Henderson	586	432
Henry	742	561
Iroquois	548	548
Jackson	1824	1612
Jasper	1049	915
Jefferson	1997	1650
Jersey	790	670
JoDaviess	2055	1518
Johnson	1435	1385
Kane	48	43
Kankakee	191	157
Kendall	67	53
Knox	1244	1048
Lake	25	19
LaSalle	1127	957
Lawrence	497	420
Lee	577	446
Livingston	498	392
Logan	401	298
Macon	252	217
Macoupin	1677	1228
Madison	995	648
Marion	1677	1404
Marshall	696	607
Mason	489	484
Massac	471	369
McDonough	902	759
McHenry	360	216
McLean	541	490
Menard	392	288
Mercer	828	632
Monroe	910	863
Montgomery	1149	861
Morgan	899	674
Moultrie	251	224
Ogle	1035	730
Peoria	1317	1133
Perry	1161	964
Piatt	184	134
Pike	2610	2194
Pope	1473	1301
Pulaski	547	533
Putnam	454	361
Randolph	1890	1770
Richland	745	635
Rock Island	806	610
Saline	734	726
Sangamon	743	598
Schuyler	1346	1166
Scott	508	374
Shelby	1193	1025
St. Clair	868	724
Stark	258	216
Stephenson	837	643
Tazewell	625	527
Union	1551	1323
Vermilion	719	648
Wabash	252	218
Warren	554	481
Washington	1083	864
Wayne	1446	1316
White	808	699
Whiteside	806	542
Will	287	267
Williamson	1391	1176
Winnebago	410	315
Woodford	837	753
Total	85490	71894

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Wisconsin’s 2008 Black Bear Season Harvest

Permits to increase by 50 percent for 2009 season
MADISON — Preliminary figures indicate hunters harvested more than 2,900 black bears in Wisconsin during the 2008 bear hunting season. This figure is expected to increase slightly in the next month as remaining registration data is entered and is very close to the 2,950 harvest goal for the 2008 season.

Price, Sawyer, and Marinette counties led the state with 259, 220, and 209 bears registered respectively. The preliminary harvest by Bear Management Zone is Zone A: 1,029, Zone B: 657, Zone C: 621, and Zone D: 582.

Hunters submitted 34,529 applications for 4,660 Class A Bear Harvest permits. A total of 81,453 hunters applied for either a harvest permit or a preference point, 1.5 percent more than in 2007. Hunters who apply for but do not receive a Class A harvest permit will receive a preference point for the next year’s drawing. Depending on the zone applied for, it currently takes five to ten preference points in order to draw a harvest permit.

Population study results in; biologists recommend 50 percent more harvest permits
The results of a two-year cooperative study of Wisconsin black bears indicate the population is likely more than two times larger than previously thought. The DNR-funded mark-recapture study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin – Madison Wildlife Ecology graduate student, Dave MacFarland, under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Van Deelen. Members of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association provided valuable assistance by gathering data and providing research supplies and funding.

“This is a great example of the benefits of working with our partners to complete a large and important project,” said Keith Warnke, Department of Natural Resources deer and bear ecologist.

The DNR’s Bear Committee, comprised DNR wildlife biologists and representatives from various groups such as USDA-APHIS, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, met this week to establish recommended harvest permit levels for the 2009 bear season.

“With this new information we can confidently make more bear permits available next year-that’s good news for bear hunters.” The following harvest permit levels are proposed, taking the results of the bear population study into consideration: Zone A: 2,585, Zone B: 1,100, Zone C: 2,040, and Zone D:1,230. The total of 6,950 permits is an increase of 50 percent over the number of permits available for the 2008 season. The bear harvest permit recommendations will be reviewed by the Conservation Congress Bear Study Committee and final quota and permit levels will be approved by the Natural Resources Board at the January 27-28, 2009 Natural Resources Board meeting.

“Over the next couple years, we will be working with our partners to re-write the bear management plan to incorporate this new information and structure our goals to address future bear management,” Warnke said.

2009 Season Applications
The deadline for 2009 Black Bear hunting season applications is Dec. 10, 2008. Hunters can apply over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center; by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236); at license sales locations; or DNR service centers during their regular business hours (check service center link for hours of operation, which vary by service center; service centers are closed Saturdays).

The 2009 bear hunting season will run Sept. 9 through Oct. 13. The opening week of Wisconsin’s bear hunting season alternates between those hunting bear over bait and those hunting with trailing hounds. Hunters using trailing hounds will go first in 2009 in management zones A, B, and D, where the use of dogs is permitted. Hunting over bait will have the first week of the season again in 2010.

Information on bear hunting, hunting seasons, and links to online application information can be accessed at bear hunting page of the DNR Web site or at any DNR Service Center or license vendor.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Keith Warnke - (608) 264-6023 or Linda Olver (608) 261-7588

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TPWD to Consider Sweeping Deer Hunting Regulation Changes

AUSTIN, Texas -The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has transitioned away from political boundaries for the purpose of monitoring white-tailed deer populations and toward biologically-based communities or Resource Management Units (RMUs).

The department has identified 33 unique RMUs across the state having similar soils, vegetation types and land use practices they believe will more accurately capture deer population dynamics. The intent is to develop deer season bag limit frameworks based on these units, although implementation will still track county boundaries to avoid confusion among hunters.

In a briefing of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s Regulations Committee, TPWD unveiled an extensive suite of potential regulation changes in deer harvest throughout much of the state. The department will be gathering public input on the possible proposals during the next couple of months and present to the commission in January a comprehensive set of proposals.

Those proposals will then go back out for official comment during a series of public hearings around the state next spring. A final decision will be made by the commission at its March 25-26, 2009 public meeting.

Expansion of Antler Restriction Regulations
One key potential change involves further expansion of the department’s successful antler restriction regulations into 52 additional counties where biologists have identified a need to provide greater protection of younger buck deer. In these counties, data indicates more than 55 percent of the harvested bucks are two-and-a-half years of age or younger, which creates an imbalance in the deer herd age structure.

According to Clayton Wolf, TPWD big game program director, based on data to date in the 61 counties where the rule is currently in effect, the antler restrictions have improved age structure while maintaining ample hunting opportunity.

Potentially affected counties include: Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Brazos, Brown, Chambers, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Grayson, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Wichita, Wise, and Young.

Bag Limit Changes
The department is also looking at increasing the bag limit from one buck to two bucks in Baylor, Callahan, Haskell, Jones, Knox, Shackelford, Taylor, Throckmorton, and Wilbarger counties. Wolf noted this area of the state is characterized by relatively large tract sizes and light hunter density and the deer population has grown over the years as habitat has become more favorable to white-tailed deer.

In addition, the department is considering increasing the bag limit from four deer to five deer in Pecos, Terrell, and Upton counties. White-tailed deer densities throughout the eastern Trans-Pecos are very similar to densities on the Edwards Plateau, where current rules allow the harvest of up to five antlerless deer. This change would increase hunting opportunity while addressing a resource concern.

The department is also looking at increasing the bag limit in most Cross Timbers and Prairies and eastern Rolling Plains counties from three deer (no more than one buck, no more than two antlerless) or four deer (no more than two bucks and no more than two antlerless) to five deer (no more than 2 bucks). Counties affected include: Archer, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Callahan, Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Haskell, Hill, Jack, Jones, Knox, Lampasas, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (west of IH35), and Young.

Another possible change would increase the bag limit from three deer to five deer (no more than one buck) in selected counties in the western Rolling Plains. Although white-tailed deer densities are highly variable in this part of the state, areas containing suitable habitat have become saturated with deer and whitetails are expanding into marginal to poor habitat.

Browsing pressure is severe in these areas, where little woody vegetation exists within five feet of the ground. The proposal would provide additional hunting opportunity while addressing a resource concern. Counties affected include: Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lipscomb, Motley, Ochiltree, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall, and Wheeler.

The department is also considering for the first time implementing a general open season in Dawson, Deaf Smith, and Martin counties (three deer, no more than one buck, no more than two antlerless).

Another issue where deer surveys indicate a need for change involves additional antlerless deer harvest opportunities. Therefore, the department is looking to increase antlerless deer hunting or “doe days” in the following areas:

• from 16 days to full-season either-sex in Dallam, Denton, Hartley, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Sherman and Tarrant counties;
• from 30 days to full-season either-sex in Cook, Hardeman, Hill, Johnson, Wichita, and Wilbarger counties;
• from four days to16 days in Bowie and Rusk counties;
• from four days to 30 days in Cherokee and Houston counties;
• from no doe days to four doe days in Anderson, Henderson, Hunt, Leon, Rains, Smith, and Van Zandt counties.

This proposal offers more hunting opportunity as well as making “doe days’ more consistent within each resource management unit (a suite of counties with similar population and habitat characteristics). Data indicate that the deer populations can withstand the additional harvest pressure proposed.

The department is also looking at expansion of the late antlerless and spike season into additional counties.

Counties affected include: Archer, Armstrong, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Briscoe, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crosby, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Haskell, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Hutchinson, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kent, King, Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, McLennan, Montague, Motley, Ochiltree, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Roberts, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Stonewall, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Upton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger,