HR0084 LRB094 06799 CSA 36901 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Duck hunting is an important recreational
3 activity in Illinois with approximately 50,000 duck hunters
4 participating and contributing significantly to Illinois'
5 economy annually; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Duck hunting is an important recreational
7 activity in the United States with approximately 1.6 million
8 duck hunters participating and contributing significantly to
9 the U.S. economy annually; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
11 acknowledges that duck zones are used to distribute hunting
12 opportunities and harvest according to temporal, geographic,
13 and demographic variability in duck populations; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Previous analyses (40 assessments prepared by the
15 Service, Flyway Councils, and the states) of zone-split
16 configurations have not detected adverse effects on duck
17 populations or harvests; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The federal rules for zones and splits for duck
19 hunting have remained essentially static for 20 years; it is
20 appropriate for the Service to consider additional options; and
 
21     WHEREAS, There are currently five states that have four or
22 more zones and permission to split the duck season; and
 
23     WHEREAS, The Service's current duck zoning rules do not
24 permit Illinois and 38 other states to use more than three
25 zones or permit them to split the duck season into two time
26 periods if three zones are used; and
 
27     WHEREAS, The current set of options for state selection of
28 zones and splits is not broad enough to address inequities in

 

 

HR0084 - 2 - LRB094 06799 CSA 36901 r

1 hunting opportunity caused by diverse physiographic
2 characteristics and/or size among states; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Providing states with the option for four zones
4 without split seasons would allow greater likelihood of
5 satisfying hunters and accommodating hunter preferences;
6 therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9 we urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change federal
10 rules to allow states the option to add a fourth duck zone
11 without split seasons beginning in 2006; and be it further
 
12     RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to the
13 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Governor, the Illinois
14 Department of Natural Resources, and to each member of the
15 Illinois congressional delegation.