Mike Montagano wondered this morning about a rumor that there would be no daily draws for waterfowl hunting at Braidwood Lake and Heidecke Lake.
It reminded me to check how (or if) the Illinois Department of Natural Resources would even be doing daily draws this year, not just for waterfowl hunting at public sites but also for dove hunting, so I checked with the Springfield office.
“We are working on that right now,” said Rachel Torbert, deputy director for the IDNR, early Friday.
[ADDED/UPDATED PARAGRAPH] This is statement, as of late Friday, from the IDNR:
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is working to find solutions to allow waterfowl and dove hunters the opportunity to participate in daily blind and stake drawings while also safeguarding the health and safety of hunters and staff who participate. IDNR, in conjunction with the Governor’s Office and the Illinois Department of Public Heath, is working closely to monitor the situation and will provide details as they become available.
Time is becoming of the essence with opening day of dove hunting being Sept. 1. Hunting at public sites in the opening days has a grand social history in Illinois hunting. I just doublechecked and I drew an opening day permit, so we shall see.
One thing that crossed my mind is the method that some private duck hunting groups use, where management does an online draw and assignment, usually the night before the day of hunting. I realize that would involve some computer work in a relatively short period of time, but Illinois has so little public hunting area that I would hate to see us lose access to what we do have.
