Who at the DNR is concerned? Just read an article by Dale Bowman ( I’m sure it will be posted on “The News Outside” above -
He interviewed Paul Shelton, I certainly did not get the impression that Paul is concerned about it. He is expecting a great shotgun
season to bring kill numbers up and seams to indicate the low archery totals is more weather related.
Excerpts From the article Paul Shelton
He pointed out that by age structure and sex ratio, Illinois’ deer herd has not been slipping.
‘‘Opportunities are there,’’ he said.
He said for those who manage their herd to provide a framework, ‘‘a byproduct will be you are producing some very nice deer.’’
Size of harvest will be an eternal concern, too. Shelton expects harvest for all forms of hunting to be near the 180,000-182,000 it has been the last three years.
‘‘That is perfectly adequate,’’ he said.
He expects harvest during the two firearm seasons to be in the 95,000-100,000 range it has been the last several years.
Every week so far, harvest by bowhunters has lagged behind last year. I asked Shelton if he was concerned.
‘‘By the time we hit gun season, we should be flush, depending on how heavily the rain comes [over the weekend],’’ he said. ‘‘Rain during rut never helps.’’