Public Hunting Srounds 



Most waterfowlers who do not care to or who are financially unable to own duck land, 

 or belong to a private club, or hunt at day shooting areas, must resort to state or federal 

 public shooting grounds for their sport. About 85 per cent of the waterfowl hunters In the 

 state belong to this last group, the free-lance hunters. Fig. 1 shows the location of the 

 known free-lance waterfowl shooting grounds within the state In 1942. Since completion of 

 this study, the Rice Lake Shooting Area near Banner, about 25 miles southwest of Peoria, has 

 been purchased with state and federal funds. Half of the more than 2,CX)0 acres of marsh and 

 water, administered by the State Department of Conservation, will be open to public shooting, 

 and the other half will be reserved as a waterfowl refuge and feeding area. 



UPPER MISSISSIPPI 

 RIVER WILDLIFE 

 AND FISH REFUGE 



SPARLANO 



PUBLIC _ 

 SHOOTING 

 GROUND 



SPRING 

 LAKE ~ 



LIVERPOOL 

 AR EAS~ 



jlpRASS LAKE 



-PUBLIC 

 %^ SHOOTING 

 ^ GROUND 



FIG. 1. — Free-lance waterfowl shooting grounds In Illinois, 1942. Another 

 area, near Banner, about 25 miles southwest of Peoria, was added 

 late In 1943, after completion of this study. 



I 



