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FeedQuinn sends letter to USFWS requesting fourth duck zone
More progress on gaining a fourth waterfowl zone in Illinois: Late Thursday, DNR sent out a press release announcing that Gov. Pat Quinn sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar outlining the advantages of allowing the state to establish the additional zone.
"A fourth zone would help alleviate the conflicts that are arising in Illinois when zones are forced to be too large to accommodate the weather conditions and available wetland habitats in all parts of a duck zone," Quinn wrote.
DNR Director Marc Miller formally requested that four duck zones (or three zones with a split into two season segments in each zone) be considered in a letter to the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) last February.
This past week, wildlife staff from the Illinois DNR participated in the Mississippi Flyway Council meeting and promoted the proposal for duck zone changes.
All four Flyway Councils (including both the Upper and Lower Region Regulations Committees of the Misissippi Flyway Council) met earlier this month and endorsed allowing states additional options for duck hunting zones for the 2011-2015 seasons. The new options would include four zones with no splits, and three zones with splits into two season segments. The USFWS Service Regulations Committee was expected to consider the proposal at its meeting this week. This committee is comprised of USFWS personnel.
