OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

Hunting Prospects

DNR wildlife biologists make their annual predictions for the hunting season
BY GARY THOMAS

Turn to the sports page of your daily newspaper this time of the year and chances are you'll see sports writers making weekly forecasts of who they expect to win and lose games. The editorial and political writers already have begun their stories on the outcome of elections. And we, of course, are prepared to make our yearly hunting forecast.

Because of the numerous variables associated with Illinois wildlife, these forecasts are the hardest to predict. A burst of cold weather can change a good season to a bad one; corn left in the field can make it nearly impossible to find game even during the best of years; low water conditions can send wildlife to new areas.

"Weather can also have an effect on hunters," points out Jeff Ver Steeg, chief of the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife Resources. "When the weather is bitterly cold or stormy, fewer hunters will take to the Held despite excellent wildlife populations."

Its also a given fact that wildlife is not evenly distributed throughout the state.

"Illinois wildlife habitat generally occurs as patches in an otherwise inhospitable landscape. As a result, even the best areas will have some portions that oner poorer hunting. The opposite is true as well. If hunters look hard enough, they can often locate little pockets of pretty good hunting even in the worst areas," Ver Steeg said. "And keep in mind that we have had some of our best waterfowl seasons in years when the expected fall flight was mediocre at best. It all comes down to local conditions."

With those thoughts in mind, lets take a look at what DNR wildlife biologists expect to see during this year's hunting seasons.

Upland Wildlife

If there is one group of Illinois game that is most affected by weather, it is upland wildlife. This past winter's weather, combined with spring and summer weather and habitat conditions, tend to be the determining factors as to what sportsmen will find in the field once the hunting seasons get underway.

The past winter was relatively mild with temperatures a litte above normal, except for about three weeks in January when south-central Illinois received a heavy ice storm and the northern half of the state was blanketed by heavy snow. Nesting habitat, the most important factor, is tied to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in east-central Illinois, and the acreage in this program has decreased in past years.

Let's look at each species to see how these factors will impact the upcoming hunting season.

Pheasant:

The biggest problem facing the ring-necked pheasant is lack of nesting areas. The best nesting cover in Illinois tends to be in those acres

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enrolled in CRP. Unfortunately, the Illinois program has lost more than 100,000 acres since 1995 in the 54 counties that make up Illinois' pheasant range. That translates into fewer birds.

"Without CRP land, pheasants must rely on roadsides, ditchbanks, railroad rights-of-way and what little edge they can find for nest cover," said John Cole, program manager for the upland wildlife program. "Fortunately, we are seeing a little improvement in the numbers. There was an increase of about 10,000 acres during the last CRP sign-up. That's encouraging."

Turkey hunters can expect a season as good or better than last year.

Cole said harvest figures tend to correlate closely with pheasant call count surveys, and these counts—conducted from late April through mid-May—showed 16 percent fewer pheasants than during the previous year's survey. This is 45 percent below the five-year average. Although weather conditions were favorable during this year's nesting season, August brood counts were 46 percent lower than in 1998 with a 36-percent decrease in the number of chicks. However, the number of chicks per brood increased 19 percent. The counts may be lower because of dry weather during the observation period. Cool mornings with heavy dew are necessary to bring broods to open areas where they are visible to observers. About 74,000 hunters harvested 208,000 pheasants in 1998, a 3-percent decline from the previous season. Although more hunters went afield last year, daily harvest decreased by about 5 percent from the previous year.

"It appears that pheasant numbers this year will be lower than last year," Cole said. "The decline of undisturbed nest cover is the big reason. However, pheasant numbers should be good where CRP grasslands and filter strips are present."

Cole said the most productive pheasant hunting areas will continue to be in east-central and northern Illinois.

Quail

Last year, 58,000 hunters harvested 540,000 quail in Illinois, a 15-percent increase from the previous year. There were more hunters afield in 1998 than the previous year, hunter trips increased 11 percent and daily harvest went up 4 percent. Unfortunately, that could change this year. Quail are more senstive to inclement weather than are pheasants, and heavy ice and snow in southern Illinois during much of January took its toll on the birds.

Cole said it appears that quail numbers will be below 1998 levels after two years of increases. June quail whistle counts were 30 percent lower than the previous year and the North American Breeding Bird Survey reported a 28-percent decrease in quail observations.

"When snow and ice stays on the ground for two and three weeks, quail can't find food, they become stressed and we begin to lose birds," Cole said. "If surviving birds are stressed going into the breeding season, it can also adversely affect their nesting."

Cole said the most productive areas for quail hunting will continue to be south-central and west-central Illinois.

Rabbits:

Although rabbits usually do a little better than other upland species during bad weather, last year's winter is probably responsible for a substantial decline in rabbit numbers throughout the state. The state's annual road-kill survey during June and July usually corresponds very closely with the state's harvest, and this year it was 21 percent below the 1998 figure.

The Illinois rabbit harvest had increased each of the past two years, with 102,000 hunters taking about 631,000 rabbits during last years hunt, a 15-percent increase from the previous year. Because rabbit numbers are expected to be below last year's levels over most of Illinois, Cole expects to see a harvest decline this year.

"That's not to say hunters won't find some good hunting," Cole said. "There always is a lot of variation from county-to-county and even township-to-township."

The most productive areas for rabbit hunting continue to be in west-central and southern Illinois.

Forest Wildlife

There is good news for hunters who spend their fall and winter months in search of forest wildlife. We'll begin with white-tailed deer.

Deer

Look for another good deer hunting season in Illinois. With the exception of a five-county area in east-central Illinois, forest wildlife biologists anticipate a herd similar to what hunters found when they went to the field in 1998, according to Paul Shelton, program manager for the forest wildlife program.

Deer densities in Champaign, DeWitt, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties are lower than biologists would like, resulting in a restricted archery zone in those counties. Bow hunters in those five counties are limited to two deer per season and can take only antlered deer between Oct. 1-31. Beginning Nov. 1, archers can again harvest deer of either sex in the five-county area.

While Shelton anticipates that firearm hunters will experience another year of exceptional hunting, deer numbers alone don't ensure a good harvest. Both weather and the amount of crops still in the field can have a significant influence on harvest numbers. Adverse weather during the season can prevent deer hunters from venturing afield, and standing corn can provide refuge-like cover that typically reduces deer harvest.

Sportsmen took 135,336 whitetails during the 1998-99 hunting seasons—95,608 by firearm, 36,328 by bow and arrow, 1,227 by

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muzzleloader and 2,173 by handgun.

Shelton expects the top counties for harvest to be in west-central and southern Illinois.

"A deer hunter cannot harvest more than two antlered deer during this year's hunt, regardless of the number or type of permits in his/her possession," Shelton said. "After a deer hunter has taken a second antlered deer, any remaining either-sex permits may only be used as antlerless-only permits."

Last year, there were reports of approximately 500 deer that were suspected of dying from epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in 45 different counties. This year the disease does not appear to be resurfacing. Shelton said humans cannot contract EHD from either cleaning or consuming the meat of a deer having EHD. Anyone with information relating to sick and/or dead deer should report that information to their Department of Natural Resources' regional office.

Turkey:

Prospects for the fall turkey seasons are excellent. Reproduction in 1998 was above average, so there should be good numbers of adult birds, and while it is still too early to say for sure, the turkey brood survey data for 1999 indicates that we may have had above-average reproduction for the second year in a row.

Wildlife biologists are expecting an archery season as good or better than in 1998, when bowhunters took a record 299 birds. Firearm season is also expected to be as good or better than 1998, when a record 1,203 turkeys were harvested.

Shelton said two new counties, Madison and Wayne, are opening for the 1999 fall firearm season.

Squirrel

The season is already underway for squirrel. The prospects for squirrel hunting are good, according to wildlife biologists. Reproduction was good and hunters should find good numbers of young squirrels throughout the state this year. However, the number of squirrel hunters has declined somewhat in recent years, so hunting pressure could be light in many areas.

Waterfowl

This should be a special year for waterfowlers, according to State Waterfowl Biologist Ray Marshalla. There will be a record fall flight of ducks and a very generous fall flight of Canada geese. Because of the anticipated numbers, waterfowlers will have the most liberal waterfowl hunting opportunities offered in Illinois since 1930. Let's start with a look at ducks.

Ducks:

Check out these numbers: Duck breeding and habitat surveys from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicate a record total duck abundance of 43.4 million breeding birds. This is an increase of 11 percent from 1998 and 32 percent higher than the 1955-98 average. The record-setting fall flight of ducks is projected to be about 105 million birds.

Mallard numbers are up 12 percent from last year, the second highest population on record. Green-winged teal numbers are up 26 percent, the second highest population on record. Blue-winged teal are up 12 percent, the highest population on record. Shovelers are up 22 percent, the second highest population on record. Pintails are up 21 percent, the highest population since 1983. Scaup are up 27 percent.

What those numbers mean is a liberal 60-day season and six-duck daily bag limit.

"During the 67 years between 1930 and 1997, Illinois has had 60-day hunting seasons only 10 times," Marshalla said. "Prior to last year, the last time Illinois had a duck season longer than 55 days was the 1958 season." So what's the downside? Food, water and weather. "The ducks are there, but that doesn't guarantee a good season," Marshalla said. "Hunting success is much more dependent on the weather during migration and on local water and food conditions on refuges and hunting areas. If there isn't food and water available when they arrive in Illinois, they'll pass on through the state." Early freeze-ups could also affect hunting opportunities at refuges and hunting areas. And the food and water outlook is spotty. Some parts of the state have experienced drought-like conditions, while others have had good summer moisture. Although some plantings were made during the normal time period, others were late because of too much rain, and some places didn't have enough moisture to germinate plants. Its still too early to get a complete look at what we can expect, but there should be plenty of food for migrating birds in some parts of the state while other areas will have little or no moist-soil plants. An August wind storm in central Illinois knocked down a lot of corn. While much of the corn can be harvested, there should be a lot of waste grain in fields, which could help keep some ducks in the area longer.

Marshalla said the state estimated last year's duck harvest at 387,600, which was almost 100,000 more birds than the previous year. About 47 percent of the birds were mallards. Next came wood ducks (12 percent), gadwalls

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(9 percent), green-winged teal (9 percent), followed by blue-winged teal, lesser scaup, wigeon, shovelers, pintails, redheads and canvasback.

Geese:

The number of Canada geese in the Mississippi Valley Population (MVP) numbered nearly 970,000 in the spring, a record high since surveys began in 1989. The fall flight forecast is for 1,284,000 geese, which is a 97 percent increase from the previous year. These birds comprise about 51 percent of the Illinois goose harvest. Add to that another 111,000 giant Canadas that live in Illinois and which make up about 33 percent of the Illinois harvest.

During the 58 years between 1931 and 1989, Illinois hunters have enjoyed a Canada goose season longer than 70 days only one time. During the 1990s, hunters were given 90 or more days during five seasons. If you include the 15-day September season and the Youth Hunt, two Illinois zones will enjoy 107-day seasons this year.

The best predictor of Canada goose hunting success is the percent of young geese in the flock. While the numbers of young MVP Canada geese will be the highest in seven years, they make up a lower percentage of the birds than during the past six years. This could impact hunter success during this year's hunting season.

The Illinois statewide harvest allocation for Canada geese is 119,600 birds, a three-fold increase from last year's numbers. As a result, the season will feature higher bag limits in all zones to go along with longer seasons.

"The biggest factor constituting whether Illinois will have a good season is the weather, not the number of birds," Marshalla said. "Canada geese tend to remain as far north as weather permits. So if there is no snow in Wisconsin or northern Illinois, they will stay north and the hunting in central and southern Illinois will suffer."

Congressional action in September may affect the snow goose season. Legislation approved by the U.S. House and pending in the Senate would allow snow geese to be taken continuously during the Canada goose season. It would also allow states to use liberalized hunting methods for taking snow geese from the end of regu lar Canada goose season through March 31, including use of electronic calls, hunting until one-half hour after sunset and eliminating the bag limit.

In addition, a change in federal law may also affect the proposed season for white-fronted goose hunting, for which federal rules allow up to an 86-day season.

Recommended season dates for goose hunting include a 91-day Canada goose hunting season in the north and central zones and a 67day Canada goose season in the south zone. The proposed quotas for the regular Canada goose season are: Northern Illinois Quota Zone:16,700; Central Illinois Quota Zone: 22,100;Southern Illinois Quota Zone: 36,100; Rend Lake Quota Zone: 6,600; Remainder of the state: 38,100; for a statewide total of 119,000.

Furbearers

Fur prices determine the hunting and trapping pressure on Illinois furbearers. Fur prices dropped nearly 73 percent last year and harvest was down 43 percent as a result. Fur prices continue to be down, so look for fewer hunters and trappers in the field this year.

"The Russian economy is down and they are the major consumers of Illinois fur," said Bob Bluett, who heads the furbearer program. "When their economy suffers, it has a real effect on our fur prices. The Asian economy is recovering from earlier setbacks, but they won't make up for weak markets in other parts of the world."

Hardest hit was the price of raccoon fur. An average raccoon pelt declined in value by about 53 percent from the previous year. Muskrat fur went from about $2.90 per pelt two years ago to about $1.45 last year. Raccoons and muskrats account for about 93 percent of the total harvest and value.

Illinois furtakers sold just over 215,000 pelts last year with a value of about $913,600. That is down from 378,000 pelts worth about $3.3 million in 1997-98. The devaluation in fur prices can be seen in declining trapping license sales. They went from 4,440 in 1997-98 to 3,739 in 1998-99.

But while this won't be a good year to make money in the fur business, it should be a good year for introducing youngsters to a new sport, for training dogs and for expanding into new hunting and trapping areas for when the price of fur goes up.

The raccoon population is expected to be up by about 26 percent, while the muskrat population is stable or up just a little, especially in those parts of the state with average to aboveaverage rainfall. The opossum population will be up about 28 percent, while the fox and coyote populations are expected to be stable.

Bluett said his office is now trying to develop a better understanding of the Illinois beaver population. The species is important for its fur, and also for creating wetland habitat. Bluett said the DNR has just begun a Federal Aid project with Southern Illinois University Carbondale to monitor this species in Illinois.

GARY THOMAS
is a staff writer for OutdoorIllinois. a publication of the Illinois Depanment of Natural Resources. This article is reprinted with permission from the October 1999 issue of OutdoorIllinois.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Mottershaw Named Deputy Director

Governor George H. Ryan has named Richard Mottershaw as deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources. He replaces Bruce Clay, who retired on September 30. Mottershaw, 60, has been director of Office of Mines and Minerals for two years. Prior to that he was a member of the Illinois State Mining Board for nearly 20 years. He was employed with Monterey Coal County for more than 30 years, where he served in various capacities including a miner, a health and safety inspector and supervisor and a liaison with state and federal officials.

He is a member of Ducks Unlimited, Whitetails Unlimited and the American Rabbit Hunters Association.

As deputy director, Mottershaw will assist Director Manning with overseeing the day-to-day operations of several department offices.

Deputy Director Clay Retires

Department of Natural Resources Deputy Director Bruce Clay retired from state government on September 30 after 35 years of service. Clay's career in state service began in 1960, when he served as director of the maximum security building at the Department of Correction's Illinois State Training School at Geneva. He left state government to work for the Springfield Urban League as a field representative for the Road Builders Service Project, returning in 1978 when he was Deputy Administrator of the Department of Conservation's Illinois Young Adult Conservation Corps. Clay left DOC in 1981 to become Chief Deputy Director of Physical Services for the Secretary of State. He returned to the Department of Conservation in 1991, serving as Assistant Director and then as Deputy Director.

"Bruce has served this department and the citizens of Illinois with loyalty and dedication," said DNR Director Brent Manning. "He will be missed."

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