Illinois Awaits Data to Decide on Deer Permit Numbers

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says it will make final decisions on how many late-winter deer hunting permits will be issued and the counties they will be issued by sometime this summer.

The department said Tuesday that it is waiting for final data on deer harvest and deer killed in accidents involving vehicles.

Wildlife program manager Paul Shelton said the department tries to make sure quotas are high enough to allow hunters to have a permit to take a deer of either sex in the county of their choice.

April 30 is the deadline to apply for the first permit lottery for the 2014 firearm season.