Results of the 2008-2009 Illinois Hunter Harvest Survey

A random sample of 3,000 potential hunters was selected from among 2008 Illinois Habitat Stamp and hunting license purchasers. An 8-page questionnaire was successfully mailed to 2,883 of the 3,000 individuals. We received 1,774 returned questionnaires, 1,770 of which were usable, for a 62% response rate. Comparisons of harvest estimates from the 2007-2008 season to the 2008-2009 season suggest harvest decreased for 12 game animal categories (rabbit, quail, dove, gray partridge, woodcock, snipe, crow, groundhog, fox squirrel, red fox, coyote, and opossum) and increased for 4 categories (pheasant, gray squirrel, raccoon, and gray fox). License sales increased 0.3%, from 282,803 sold for the 2007 season to 283,746 sold in the 2008 season. Hunters responded to several questions regarding changes to deer hunting seasons recommended by the Joint Deer Population Task Force. Seventy-six percent of respondents supported extending the first firearm deer season to include Monday of the week of Thanksgiving, for a total of 4 days. Sixty-four percent of respondents supported changing the Late-Winter Antlerless Season from the current 3 days to 9 days by opening the season 6 days earlier. Seventy percent of hunters supported adding an additional antlerless firearm deer season during a time of year when the weather might be more conducive to increased hunter participation.