the glacial lakes district. Hunters In the Mississippi River area, however, shot only a small 

 fraction of the number of coots per hunter-day shot by those In the other area. 



In the Mississippi River region only two known day shooting places reported their 

 duck kill In 1940 and only one In 1941. Fig. 5 shows that hunting success In 1940 was slight- 

 ly greater at these dally fee clubs than at private clubs. However, because of the small 

 sample. It should not be Inferred that this situation is generally true. 



Main differences In the duck bags of the two regions for the years of this report is 

 that mallards, lesser scaups and ring-necked ducks were more numerous in the Mississippi River 

 bag, while pintails, blue-winged teals, baldpates and shovelers were more numerous in the 

 glacial lakes bag, table 1. The dally kill per hunter was about the same for green-winged 

 teals, gadwalls, canvas backs, redheads and ruddy ducks. 



Apparently because of high water In 1941, the Mississippi River valley had a lower 

 rate of kill of all dabbling ducks but baldpates and shovelers in that year than in 1940 or 

 194E. Appreciably more ring-necked ducks, canvasbacks, redheads and ruddy ducks per hunter- 

 day were taken in 1941 and 1942 than in 1940. The highest lesser scaup kill occurred with the 

 high water in 1941. 



Free-lance hunters along the Mississippi River, from East Dubuque to Rock Island, 

 were allowed to hunt on a large number of scattered purchase units of the Upper Mississippi 

 River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. These units covered 19,629 acres In Illinois. In a letter of 

 September 11, 1942, Ray C. Steele, Superintendent of the Refuge, stated: ". . . all portions 

 of the Upper Mississippi Refuge within the State of Illinois are open to public recreation 

 including hunting of migratory waterfowl during the open season, except about 1,200 acres 

 within the boundaries of the Carroll County Drainage and Levee District No. 1, a short dis- 

 tance below Savanna, which is closed to public hunting." 



South of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge, open areas for free- 

 lance duck hunters were found on government owned islands along the channel, as well as along 

 many of the sloughs and backwaters. The amount of this territory actually available for 

 public hunting is not known, but it ran into the thousands of acres. Much of this open 

 territory along the Mississippi River was of poor quality for duck hunting. 



P On one of the better open areas near Batchtown, Illinois, 142 hunters bagged 130 

 ducks or 0.92 duck per hunter-day in 1941. Sixty-five free-lance hunters on lakes adjacent to 

 the mouth of the Illinois River averaged 2.44 ducks per hunter-day the same year. This is 

 considerably below the bag per hunter-day at private and day shooting clubs in the Mississippi 

 River region In Illinois, but Is similar to the bag at public shooting grounds in the Illinois 

 River valley. 



15 



