Illinois hunters will notice some changes this deer hunting season as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources implements new rules to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The biggest change the department made is to do away with standby hunting. Hunting sites have quotas, which means a limited number of hunters will be allowed to hunt the site. Standby hunting opportunities occur when a hunter is unable to show up on the morning of a hunt or is successful early in the day.

“So it usually requires people gathering early in the morning when it’s dark outside in a parking lot or in a barn, in an office, something like that to select – check in and then select – people for this standby hunting opportunity,” IDNR Forest Wildlife Program Manager Dan Skinner said. “And we felt that was the biggest concern to be able to do that safely and maintain social distance, and keep the safety of both the hunters and the IDNR site staff in mind.”

In-person blind assignments are also cancelled, according to an IDNR news release. At all Illinois sites where permitted hunters are assigned hunting locations, the selection will be performed by site staff and assignments mailed to hunters.

For sites that usually have mandatory in-person pre-season orientation, those have been cancelled in favor of relevant safety information being delivered via mail or posted at sites, according to the IDNR news release.

Skinner said he does not expect safety to be affected because the rules have changed.

“But they’re going to find a way to get that information across so that hunters can remain safe on these sites without doing the in-person meeting so I don’t anticipate that being a problem,” Skinner said.
Hunters should be prepared to take an extra moment to take in new protocols when they arrive at a public hunting site.

“When they show up, they’re going to need to go where they normally would and look for new signage or await additional instructions from site staff,” said Skinner.

Illinois firearm hunting season begins Nov. 20.