Controlled pheasant hunting permit reservations available

The online permit reservation system for controlled pheasant hunting at 15 Illinois Department of Natural Resources sites is now open.

Four additional sites are operated in a public-private partnership with concessionaire T. Miller, Inc.

Visit http://www.dnr.illinois.gov and pull down the menu under hunting/trapping and select upland game. Under the heading Quick Links, click Controlled Pheasant Areas to take you to the reservation system.

Carefully review the application instructions and season information before submitting an application.

At DNR sites, the daily fee is $30 for resident hunters, $35 for nonresidents.

Sites operated by T. Miller include Chain O’Lakes State Park in Lake County, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area in Kendall County, Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area in Fayette County, and Horseshoe Lake State Park in Madison County.

Information about controlled pheasant hunting at these sites is available at http://www.tmillerinc.com.

Five DNR sites are open only for the Illinois Youth Pheasant Hunt for hunters from 10 - 15 years old. 

Those five sites are the Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area in Tazewell County, Clinton Lake State Recreation Area in DeWitt County, Edward Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area in Logan County, Sangchris Lake State Park in Christian and Sangamon Counties and the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Randolph County.

Nine sites provide hunting during the regular season and special opportunities for youth.

Those sites are Johnson Sauk Trail State Recreation Area in Henry County, the Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area in Will County, Kankakee River State Park in Kankakee County, the Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, Moraine View State Recreation Area in McLean County, Sand Ridge State Forest in Mason County, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area in Cass County, Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area in Clinton County, and Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area in Jefferson and Franklin Counties. 

The Green River State Wildlife Area in Lee County provides 15 days of controlled pheasant hunting during a season that extends from early November until just before Christmas. 

At Des Plaines, Moraine View and Eldon Hazlet, hunting opportunities are available for hunters with disabilities where special vehicles are provided to assist with the hunt.

Online permit reservations for the first drawing period DNR sites will be accepted through 1 p.m. on Aug. 13. 

Two additional one-week drawing periods are scheduled later. 
DNR sites will allocate a portion of their quota to standby hunters. 

Standby hunters acquire permits and pay permit fees at the site hunter check station on the day of the hunt. 

For the 2012 hunting season no cost standby permits will be available for the Illinois Youth Pheasant Hunt as well.