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Reports began circulating in mid-March 2008 that the Illinois Controlled Pheasant Program (operated by the Illinois DNR on multiple state sites) was to be eliminated effective immediately by order of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget. The Fall 2008 Pheasant Season is many months away, but without a continuing ILDNR operating budget for raising pheasants, there will be no birds available for release in the Fall.
With the relative lack of accessible and/or suitable pheasant hunting habitat on private land in Illinois, many hunters find that the Controlled Pheasant Program provides their only available upland hunting opportunities. In addition, most DNR sites offer popular youth pheasant hunts that would also be cut in this ill-conceived plan.
Several Town Hall Meetings have been scheduled throughout the state to allow citizens to offer their input on Illinois budget-related issues. However, the narrow range of dates (3/17-3/27) and the relative lack of down-state locations has made it difficult for many sportsmen to attend and defend the Controlled Pheasant Program. Of course, the best approach for most people is simply to contact your local legislators directly with your input.
The purported savings through elimination of the program was to total $1.3 million dollars. However, as Jeff Lampe of PrairieStateOutdoors.com notes: "... the savings total is completely deceptive. For one thing, hunters must purchase a $15 permit each time they hunt pen-raised birds, and last year paid $438,000. Then too, payroll costs account for $928,000 of the previously mentioned $1.3 million. But there are no plans to eliminate staff positions even if pheasant-raising is halted according to Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Sparta)."
These figures also don't include revenues generated by Illinois hunting licenses and habitat stamps purchased by the hunters, since they are not directly attributed to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources pheasant program. Nor do the figures include revenues received through the distribution of Pittman-Robertson funds: these funds include an 11% federal excise tax on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment distributed to states based on a formula involving the area of a state and the number of licensed hunters in the state. (The Pittman-Robertson money is collected from the manufacturers and distributed annually to the states by the federal Department of the Interior.)
IllinoisHunter plans to continually update this report as events unfold.
The following sources have been added since this was originally posted.
IllinoisHunter.com Update 3/30/08
3/23/08 Article in German Shorthair Pointer Club of Illinois website
http://www.gspci.org/modules/news/templates/template.asp?articleid=219&zoneid=1
3/29/08 Article in the Springfield State Journal-Register by Chris Young:
http://www.sj-r.com/Outdoors/stories/27694.asp
IL Pheasant Program Fact Sheet from Pheasants Forever / Quail Forever
http://www.illinoispf.org/page/1700/CPHP.jsp
IllinoisHunter.com Update 4/9/08
April 2008 (undated press release) "State Senator John O. Jones (R-Mt. Vernon) is leading a bi-partisan effort in the Illinois General Assembly to preserve the state-sponsored Controlled Pheasant Hunting Program (CPHP)."
http://jones.senategop.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=1
IllinoisHunter.com Update 4/14/08
This Wednesday, April 16th, there will be a legislative hearing of the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield that will cover the funding of the IDNR state pheasant program (among other topics.) This committee hearing will be held as a joint hearing with the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee (Appropriations II) starting at 8 am. The direct link to the hearing notice is: http://ilga.gov/senate/committees/hearing.asp?HearingID=5198&CommitteeID=396 The committee hearing is open to the public and written public statements will be accepted for consideration. According to Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Sparta) there will probably be a proposal to keep the program associated with a proposed $10 hunting trip fee increase. ($15-$25) There is also some talk of higher fees for out-of-state hunters.
IllinoisHunter.com Update 4/16/08
As reported in Prairie State Outdoors, the legislative hearing was inconclusive as to the future of the pheasant hunting program. For more details:
"DNR pheasant program faces deadline" Prairie State Outdoors 4/16/08
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