IDNR deer hunting reminders

(CIFN file photo)

As the second Illinois firearm deer season is underway this weekend in the state, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters in counties where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected that Firearm Deer Check Stations will be open this year.

Check stations were not open in 2020 due to health and safety protocols in place at that time. Check stations are used by the IDNR to monitor CWD in Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Livingston, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, and Winnebago counties. A list of check station locations for CWD testing can be found on the IDNR website Firearm Deer Hunting Information for CWD Counties page. The list this year includes a Carroll County check station at Mississippi Palisades State Park. Hunters harvesting deer in Kane County should take their deer to a check station in an adjacent county. In those counties, hunter-harvested deer must be taken to a designated firearm deer check station by 8 p.m. on the day the deer is killed. All persons at the check stations will be required to follow guidance from the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health in place at the time of the hunt regarding use of face masks and social distancing. Successful firearm deer hunters in all other counties must report their harvest by 10 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer is taken by using the online check-in system at https://www.exploremoreil.com/wildlife/harvest or by phone at 866-452-4325.

During the first Illinois firearm deer season last month, hunters harvested 50,300 deer based on preliminary numbers by IDNR. In comparison, the first weekend of 2020 saw 47,147 deer hunted. The top five counties included Randolph, Adams, Jackson, Jefferson and Fulton.

This weekend’s second firearm deer season runs through Sunday (Dec. 5).