| Summary: | A total of 3,190 (44% response rate) Illinois waterfowl hunters returned usable questionnaires to the 2017-18 Illinois Waterfowl Hunter Survey. An estimated 37,215 adult waterfowl hunters spent 1 day or more afield during 2017-18, a decrease of 9.7% from the 41,242 hunters in 2016-17. Waterfowl hunters spent 732,166 days afield, a decrease of 15.9% from the 870,721 days devoted during the 2016-17 license year. Total waterfowl harvest decreased 0.4%, from 490,463 during 2016-17 to 421,384 during 2017-18. Duck harvest estimates for the regular duck season were as follows: 136,381 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), 29,372 wood ducks (Aix sponsa), and 111,937 other ducks. A total of 15,062 teal (Anas spp.) were harvested during the September teal season. Goose hunters harvested 78,850 Canada geese (Branta canadensis) during the regular Canada goose season, a 2.1% increase from the 77,216 Canada geese harvested during the 2016-17 regular goose season. Hunters harvested 16,155 Canada geese during the September Canada goose season, an 8.8% decrease from the previous year. During the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Season, 4,780 adults took 6,459 youths waterfowl hunting, an 8.7% increase in adult participation and a 9.1% increase in youth participation from the 2016-17 Youth Waterfowl Hunting Season. Hunter preferences for season and zones, and satisfaction with the waterfowl seasons are also discussed. llinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceFederal Aid in Wildlife Restoration W-112-R-27 unpublished not peer reviewed Open
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