Illinois Administrative Code
Title 17 - CONSERVATION
Part 590 - DUCK, GOOSE AND COOT HUNTING
Section 590.15 - Duck, Goose and Coot General Hunting Regulations on Department-Owned, -Leased and -Managed Sites Listed in Sections 590.40 and 590.50
Universal Citation: 17 IL Admin Code ยง 590.15
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Definitions
1) Blind builder - Person who has been
assigned a blind site as a result of the drawing.
2) Blind partner - Persons chosen by the
builder to assist in construction and maintenance of the blind and to share its
blind claiming and hunting privileges.
3) Blind registration card - Card issued by
the Department and tacked inside each blind, or carried on the hunter for
claiming hunting sites, listing names and addresses of blind
builders.
4) Blind site - A
position within 10 feet of a marked location where blind must be constructed.
Sites shall be located and marked by the Department.
5) Complete blind - A blind with all
framework and siding constructed and in readiness for use, including final
brushing.
6) Dog Hide - A
compartment or area within or attached to a blind that houses a dog used to
retrieve downed waterfowl.
7)
Drawing - Procedure by which blind sites are assigned.
8) Herbaceous vegetation - for purposes of
this Section, is a plant species that is not a tree or shrub.
9) Hunting party - An individual or group of
hunters occupying a single boat, blind, or hunting site.
10) Hunting site - a position within 10 feet
of a marked location where temporary blinds may be used. Sites shall be located
and marked by the Department. Temporary blinds must be removed at the end of
each day's hunt.
11) Temporary
blind - A place of concealment that is removed in its entirety at the end of
each day's hunt, including boat blinds.
12) Woody vegetation - for the purposes of
this Section, is a species of tree or shrub.
b) Blind Construction
1) Blinds must be at least 4 feet x 8 feet,
but no higher than 14 feet from the water surface at normal pool level, to the
top of the shooting box, sturdy enough to withstand daily usage, and must be
maintained in good condition by blind builders throughout the duck season.
Blinds shall be numbered and that number shall be visible from the outside of
the blinds. Blinds must be placed within 10 feet of assigned Department marked
site.
2) Blinds built over water
must be of platform construction with the platform constructed above normal
water conditions or they may be floating blinds. At Mississippi River Pools 25
and 26, river blinds located on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and at
Batchtown management area located on the river side of the closing levee may
also be pull-in boat hide blinds. Boat hide blind must have a minimum size of
18' x 7.5 ', be sturdy enough to
withstand daily use considering conditions of the site, and be maintained in
good condition throughout the season. Boat hide blinds shall be completed,
including final brushing by four weeks prior to opening day of duck season for
other areas mentioned in this subsection (b)(2). Failure to meet these
standards shall result in forfeiture of the blind site.
3) Except for Meredosia Bay, Mississippi
River Pools 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24 and the Sparland Unit of Marshall State Fish
and Wildlife Area, blinds must be completed, including final brushing, 3 weeks
in advance of opening date of regular duck season (except at Mississippi River
Area Pools 25 and 26 blinds and final brushing must be completed 4 weeks in
advance of opening date of regular duck season) after which time the Department
shall inspect all blinds and blind sites and issue Blind Registration Cards to
those which pass inspection. Blind builders shall not gain access to Redwing
Slough/Deer Lake State Natural Area until the day following Labor Day. Blind
builders must post Blind Registration Card in the blind prior to the first day
of regular duck season. If adverse weather or water conditions make compliance
with this rule difficult the Site Superintendent or the District Wildlife
Manager may grant extensions.
4)
Sites on which blinds have not been built or registered, as well as sites on
which blinds of an unsatisfactory quality have been built, shall be reassigned
to alternates selected at a drawing or by a first come-first served allocation
held on a day publicly announced by the Department. All reassigned blinds must
be completed, including final brushing, 7 days prior to the opening date of the
duck season on sites posted as being closed to trespassing 7 days prior to
regular duck season. At Mississippi River Area Pools 25 and 26 reassigned
blinds must be completed by sunset of the Sunday immediately preceding the
opening day of regular duck season. On all other sites reassigned blinds must
be completed, including final brushing, by the day before the opening day of
the regular duck season.
5) Not
more than 3 persons shall be registered for assignment of any one blind site.
Blind builders shall submit partner names on a blind registration form as
designated at the site drawing. After the designated time, no changes shall be
accepted. As directed by the information sheet available at each site, the
registration form must be filled out and returned within 30 days after the
blind drawing date. Failure to do so shall result in forfeiture of
blind/hunting site.
6) No person
shall be allowed to be a blind builder or partner on more than one public
waterfowl blind managed by the Department.
7) Boat hides are required, except as noted
in Sections 590.40 and
590.50, and must have minimum
dimensions of 18' x 71/2'. Boat hides shall be sturdy enough to withstand daily
use considering the conditions of the site, and must be maintained in good
condition throughout the season, and shall be completed including final
brushing by 3 weeks prior to the opening day of duck season, except at
Mississippi River Area Pools 25 and 26 boat hides and final brushing must be
completed 4 weeks prior to the opening day of duck season; failure to meet
these standards shall result in forfeiture of blind site.
8) Previous year's blind builders shall have
until 7 days after the next allocation period drawing to salvage materials from
their blinds except as indicated in Sections
590.40(a) and
(b) and
590.50(a) and
(b).
9) Blinds must include a dog hide that is on
the same level as the blind. The dog hide can either be incorporated into the
blind by providing a hole at floor level that measures at least 20 inches high
by 20 inches wide or by providing a separate compartment that is attached to
the blind. Hides attached to the blind should have a minimum floor space that
measures 2 feet by 2 feet and should be at least
2.5 feet high with 2 openings.
One opening should be between the blind and the dog hide, should measure at
least 20 inches by 20 inches, and should be constructed at the same level as
the blind floor. The water access opening should be at least 20 inches wide and
20 inches high. Hides either within the blind or attached should have an
enforced ramp to water level that is at least 15 inches wide with cleats every
12 inches. Openings in the blind must be capable of being closed when not in
use.
c) Use of Blinds
1) Attempts to claim blinds/hunting sites by
any manner other than actual occupation shall be considered in violation of
this Part. The insertion of a boat into the boat hide and/or the spreading of
decoys before a blind shall not be considered legal occupation of a
blind.
2) No person shall hunt, or
attempt to hunt, except from within a registered blind, except for Meredosia
Bay, Mississippi River Pools 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24 and the Sparland Unit of
Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area.
3) Persons under 16 years of age shall not
hunt, or attempt to hunt, unless accompanied by an adult due to safety
factors.
4) Blinds shall not be
locked.
5) Claiming or attempting
to claim any blind that is legally occupied, and/or harassing, in any manner,
the occupants of a blind which has been legally occupied, is
unlawful.
6) No person shall fish
within 250 yards of an occupied blind within the hunting area.
7) All hunting parties shall hunt over a
spread of at least 12 decoys during duck season and Canada goose season. The
decoys shall be staked, placed, or floating, be individually visible, be at
least 8 inches long, and not be within a boat, blind or container.
8) At sites where a manned check station is
in operation, hunters are required to show their hunting license and Federal
and State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp. Persons exempt by law from having a
hunting license and an Illinois stamp must show valid photo identification
(example: Firearm Owner's Identification Card, driver's license,
etc.).
9) Cutting of woody
vegetation greater than 4 inches in diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) is
prohibited. No cutting of oak trees of any size is allowed. Killing or harming
herbaceous vegetation, including but not limited to herbicide treatments or
natural vegetation killers, or otherwise damaging or destroying habitat on
Department managed lands by any means is prohibited. Planting crops or other
vegetation, as well as spreading mineral supplements, including but not limited
to salt, is prohibited on lands controlled by the Department. Violations of
these rules without written permission of the Site Superintendent will result
in loss of the blind for the current allocation period for that site.
d) Public Drawing
1) Time and place for all sites holding
drawings shall be publicly announced by the Department.
2) A registrant for a drawing must be at
least 16 years of age and possess a current or preceding year's annual Illinois
hunting license that allows the individual to hunt without additional
supervision, a current or preceding year's Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp
unless exempted by law, and a valid photo identification (example: Firearm
Owner's Identification Card, driver's license). Persons exempted by law from
possessing a hunting license or waterfowl stamp must have valid photo
identification. In order to be an eligible applicant for the drawing, the
participant must not at the time of the drawing have his/her hunting privileges
suspended or revoked by the Department or any other jurisdiction. Applicants
must be present for the registration and drawing to be eligible for allocation
of blind sites.
3) No person is
eligible to draw for a waterfowl blind or hunting site who has had his or her
hunting privileges suspended by Illinois or any other state, or is prohibited
from possessing a firearm due to a conviction for violation of a State or
federal law, or is prohibited from possessing a firearm by action of law
regardless of conviction status (such as homeland security, under order of
protection, etc.). Any ineligible person who submits an application to draw for
a waterfowl blind or hunting site shall be refused, if known by the drawer at
the time to be ineligible, or shall have his or her draw declared void upon
discovery of ineligibility by the Department. A refused or voided application
shall be referred to the appropriate State's Attorney for possible prosecution
under the Criminal Code of 2012 [720 ILCS 5
].
e) Flood Rules
1) Unless site-specific flood rules are
listed in Sections 590.40, 590.50 or 590.60, in the event that State managed
sites are flooded to the point that public waterfowl blinds cannot be
constructed or waterfowl blinds are no longer usable during a flood, or if the
receding flood water does not allow for Department blind inspection under
subsection (b), the Department, by public announcement and/or posting, may
permit waterfowl hunting under one of the following subsections:
A) If the check station for that site is
open, all rules apply, except that hunting will be allowed from boat, platform
or floating blinds which must be located within 10 feet of the marked blind
site.
B) If the check station is
not operable, all rules apply except that hunting will be allowed from boat,
platform or floating blinds which must be located within 10 feet of the marked
blind site. Additionally, rules listed in Section
590.40(b)(1), (2), (3), (4) and
(9) shall not be in force. Rules concerning
blind claiming as listed in Section
590.50(b) shall
apply.
C) If blind sites have not
been marked and no check station is operable, the area will be open to hunting
from platform, floating or boat blinds or by walk-in hunting, anywhere on the
area except refuges and closed waterfowl rest areas. Preplacement of unattended
decoys and/or unoccupied blinds or boat hides do not constitute lawful
possession of a hunting site. All hunting parties must remain 200 yards apart
and follow normal closing hours for the site.
D) In all above flood circumstances,
regulations requiring the construction of a separate boat hide and regulations
regarding the minimum standards for blind construction and inspection shall be
suspended for that season.
2) Hunting locations allocated via public
drawing shall be retained by blind registrants despite the lack of a completed
blind.
f) Only flu flu arrows may be used by bow and arrow hunters; broadheads are not allowed.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Illinois may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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