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Turkey hunting is a challenging sport that requires a lot of patience, calling skills, and a little bit of luck never hurts.
More than 35,000 paid permits were issued in 2001, and interest in turkey countinues to increase as the 2002 season fast approaches.
For those looking for places to hunt in 2002, here's a handy table of the top 20 countines and top 20 states during the 2001 season. While weather, hunting skills and luck will be factors in any hunt, it might be interesting to see what places in Illinois are better than average in case you need an excuse for not harvesting that bird next season (i.e. my county or state site wasn't statistically one of the top ones in the Illinois).
Keep in mind that while the individual state sites had high success rates, they also had relatively few permits issued compared to the number of permits issued to individual counties.
While hunting in a state park or managed area may mean a higher chance of harvesting a turkey, the chance of drawing a permit for a state site is usually lower than drawing a county permit.
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New Turkey Hunting Regulations and News for 2002
• Successful hunters must register their harvest by 3 p.m. on the same day the turkey was taken by calling the toll-free number provided with their turkey hunting permit.
• Electronic decoys are not legal for turkey hunting in Illinois.'
There will be a fifth season added to the 2002 spring season to allow more hunting opportunities and to meet the growing demand for additional permits.
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Counties
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1st Season % Hunter Success
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2nd Season % Hunter Success
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3rd Season % Hunter Success
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4th Season % Hunter Success
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Total Permits
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All Seasons Birds Harvested
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Average % Hunter Success
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Lawrence
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45.6
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29.2
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34.8
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31.5
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357
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126
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35.3
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Scott
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46.3
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31.7
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27.9
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33.6
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497
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173
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34.8
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Madison
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37.1
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35.3
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22.8
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40.3
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668
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217
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32.5
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Jefferson
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40.2
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31.4
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31.4
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25.4
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915
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294
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32.1
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Macon
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30.4
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31.8
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36.4
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27.3
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89
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28
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31.5
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Henderson
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35.3
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23.9
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32.3
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31.6
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621
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191
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30.8
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Jasper
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42.9
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26.2
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25.4
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27.0
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504
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153
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30.4
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Morgan
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39.7
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28.8
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24.0
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26.1
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735
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217
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29.7
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Calhoun
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39.8
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25.1
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25.6
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25.8
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1390
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404
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29.1
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Wayne
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48.0
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23.7
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21.6
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21.6
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706
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203
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28.8
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Crawford
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34.0
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29.3
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21.2
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30.3
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397
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114
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28.7
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Mason
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37.0
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27.7
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26.3
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23.4
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549
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157
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28.6
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Pike
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33.0
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24.1
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24.2
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32.2
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2061
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585
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28.4
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Cass
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29.7
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25.8
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30.1
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28.1
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619
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176
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28.4
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Rock Island
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29.4
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37.3
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23.8
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22.4
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503
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142
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28.2
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Marion
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38.9
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18.8
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25.8
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28.6
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935
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262
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28.0
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Richland
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32.3
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22.9
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26.0
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30.5
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383
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107
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27.9
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Adams
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34.6
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25.7
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22.5
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28.4
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1745
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485
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27.8
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Winnebago
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30.1
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26.9
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22.6
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31.5
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371
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103
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27.8
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Edwards
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58.2
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18.5
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20.4
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13.0
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217
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60
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27.6
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State Sites
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1st Season % Hunter Success
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2nd Season % Hunter Success
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3rd Season % Hunter Success
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4th Season % Hunter Success
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Total Permits
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All Seasons Birds Harvested
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Average % Hunter Success
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Sam Pair
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100.0
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100.0
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100.0
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100.0
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6
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6
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100.0
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Mermet Lake
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100.0
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100.0
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0.0
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100.0
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3
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3
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100.0
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Newton Lake
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75.0
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100.0
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75.0
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50.0
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16
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12
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75.0
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Red Hills/Chauncey Marsh
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100.0
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100.0
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0.0
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100.0
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4
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3
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75.0
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Crab Orchard
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66.7
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66.7
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40.0
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86.7
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60
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39
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65.0
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Beaver Dam
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100.0
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0.0
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100.0
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0.0
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4
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2
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50.0
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Horseshoe Lake
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100.0
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100.0
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0.0
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0.0
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4
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2
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50.0
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Crawford County SFA
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100.0
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50.0
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50.0
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0.0
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8
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4
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50.0
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Sato Field
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50.0
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100.0
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0.0
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50.0
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8
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4
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50.0
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Feme Clyffe
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100.0
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0.0
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50.0
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50.0
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8
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4
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50.0
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Jim Edgar Panther Creek
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33.3
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40.6
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47.1
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44.4
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132
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55
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41.7
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Ten Mile Creek
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50.0
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50.0
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33.3
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33.3
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24
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10
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41.7
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Sangchris Lake
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50.0
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50.0
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50.0
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0.0
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8
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3
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37.5
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Mermet Lake
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50.0
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0.0
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50.0
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50.0
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8
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3
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37.5
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Fox Ridge
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100.0
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0.0
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50.0
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0.0
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8
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3
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37.5
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Red Hills
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50.0
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50.0
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0.0
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0.0
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8
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3
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37.5
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Big River
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50.0
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33.3
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33.3
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33.3
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24
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9
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37.5
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Randolph County SFA
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100.0
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50.0
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0.0
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16.7
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18
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6
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33.3
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Sand Ridge
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62.5
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18.8
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31.3
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18.8
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64
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21
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32.8
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Apple River Canyon
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28.6
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0.0
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57.1
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42.9
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28
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9
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32.1
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