WATERFOWL HUNTING IN ILLINOIS: ITS STATUS AND PROBLEMS 



Frank C. Bellrose, Jr. 

 Assistant Game Technician 



As the limited amount of waterfowl territory In Illinois has become Increasingly 

 burdened by hunters, discussions on the real or fancied ailments of wlldfowllng have waxed 

 hotter and longer. The free-lance hunter has blamed the duck club for his empty bag, or his 

 fellow sportsmen in adjoining blinds. The duck club hunter has blamed the mechanically picked 

 cornfields, the rest lake of some adjacent club or the nearby waterfowl refuge. In an attempt 

 to evaluate some of the waterfowl hunting problems, with a view toward better management and 

 distribution of the harvest, this study was undertaken. 



Grateful acknowledgment Is made of the cooperation of several boat -livery operators 

 who assisted In the gathering of data at nearby public shooting grounds In the Illinois River 

 valley: William Grollmltz and Clint Warren, Liverpool; Harry Rlesch and Robert Deyo, Spring 

 Lake; the late Scott Osborn, Sparland; and Dick Reed, Chllllcothe. Assistance of the State 

 Department of Conservation In the loan of duck club kill records and In the check oi the coot 

 kill at Grass Lake also Is acknowledged with appreciation. 



Hunting licenses sold In Illinois, 1940 through 1942, averaged 330,791, according to 

 State Department of Conservation records. During the same 3-year period an average of 77,533 

 duck stamps was sold annually In the state. Thus, In the years of this study, about one 

 hunter out of every four In Illinois pursued the sport of waterfowllng. Since the duck stamp 

 act went Into effect In 1934, the number of waterfowlers, as shown by stamp sales, has risen 

 from 36,337 In 1935 to 64,212 In 1940, 84,997 In 1941 and 83,391 In 1942. 



From all accounts, the nimiber of waterfowl hunters In the state has steadily risen 

 since 1900, with a sharp accentuation after World War I. Many middle-aged residents can 

 remember back In the early 1900' s, when on choice Illinois River lakes the hunter was free to 

 put out blocks almost anywhere, and when he might not find another hunter within a mile or 

 more. If the hunter made a blind. It was regarded by others as his sanctum sanctorum, and 

 others would not appropriate It even when vacant. 



All this has changed with the passing of two score years. Where once there were no 

 trespass signs, today there are many. Where once hunting trips lasted a week or two, today 

 they last a day or two. Where once there was one hunter, today there are 25. And not only 

 has the number of waterfowlers Increased, but since 1900 many marsh and water areas throughout 

 the state have been drained, so that we now find only a fraction of the duck land once present 

 In Illinois. According to Information provided by Professor C. L. Stewart of the University 

 of Illinois, more thsin 13 per cent of the total area of the state, or about 5,000,000 acres, 

 has been Involved In drainage enterprises. 



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