Public Act 90-0435 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0435
HB1050 Enrolled LRB9004123DJcd
AN ACT concerning wildlife, amending named Acts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
amended by changing Section 6.08 as follows:
(20 ILCS 5/6.08) (from Ch. 127, par. 6.08)
Sec. 6.08. In the Department of Natural Resources. An
Advisory Board to the Department of Natural Resources,
composed of 11 persons, one of whom shall be a senior citizen
age 60 or over.
In the appointment of the initial members the Governor
shall designate 3 persons to serve for 2 years, 3 for 4 years
and 3 for 6 years from the third Monday in January of the
odd-numbered year in which the term commences. The members
first appointed under this amendatory Act of 1984 shall serve
a term of 6 years commencing on the third Monday in January,
1985.
The Advisory Board shall formulate long range policies
for guidance of the Department in: the protection and
conservation of renewable resources of the State of Illinois;
the development of areas and facilities for outdoor
recreation; the prevention of timber destruction and other
forest growth by fire, or otherwise; the reforestation of
suitable lands of this State; the extension of cooperative
support to other agencies of this State in the prevention and
guarding against the pollution of streams and lakes within
the State; the management of the wildlife resources,
including migratory fowl, and fisheries resources, including
the construction of new water impoundment areas; the
development of an adequate research program for fish, game
and forestry through cooperation with and support of the
Illinois Natural History Survey; and the expressing of
policies for proper dissemination of and enforcement of the
various laws pertinent to the conservation program of
Illinois and the nation.
The Board shall make a study of the personnel structure
of the Department and shall, from time to time, make
recommendations to the Governor and the Director of Natural
Resources for a merit system of employment and for the
revision of the position classification to the extent which
Civil Service classification should apply in departmental
positions.
The Board shall make studies of the land acquisition
needs of the Department and recommendations from time to time
as to necessary acquisition of lands for fisheries, game,
forestry and recreational development.
The Board may shall in cooperation with the Illinois
Natural History Survey recommend to the Director of Natural
Resources any reductions or increases of seasons, and bag or
possession limits, or the closure of any season when research
and inventory data indicate the need for such changes to
maintain the relative biological balance of any species.
Such Board members shall be reimbursed for any necessary
travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
Section 10. The Fish and Aquatic Life Code is amended
by changing Section 15-130 as follows:
(515 ILCS 5/15-130) (from Ch. 56, par. 15-130)
Sec. 15-130. Gill or trammel net. It shall be unlawful
to use a gill or trammel net except in the Mississippi River,
in the Ohio River, and in the Illinois River from its mouth
up to the Illinois River bridge, Highway Route 89, including
adjacent backwaters but not above the mouth of any stream,
ditch, or tributary connected to these backwaters. No trammel
net used under this Section shall have meshes less than 2
inches bar measurement and no gill net used under this
Section shall have meshes less than 4 inches bar measurement.
No gill or trammel net shall be less than 100 feet in length.
All gill or trammel nets that are set in any body of
water shall be under the immediate supervision of the
operator, who may be the licensee or his or her employee,
except (i) from May 1 to September 30, (ii) when the nets are
set under the ice, or (iii) from sunset to sunrise. Immediate
supervision shall be defined as the operator being on the
waters where the nets are set to be readily available to
identify the nets to law enforcement officers empowered to
enforce this Code. It shall be unlawful for any employee on
any one day to lift or attend nets of more than one licensee.
All gill or trammel nets set under the ice shall be at a
distance of not less than 100 yards from any natural opening
in the ice.
The Department may modify provisions of this Section as
provided in Section 1-135.
(Source: P.A. 87-833.)
Section 15. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing
Sections 1.3, 3.7, and 3.8 as follows:
(520 ILCS 5/1.3)
Sec. 1.3. The Department shall have the authority to
manage wildlife and regulate the taking of wildlife for the
purposes of providing public recreation and controlling
wildlife populations. The seasons during which wildlife may
be taken, the methods for taking wildlife, and the daily bag
limits, and the possession limits shall be established by the
Department through administrative rule, but the Department
may not provide for a longer season, a larger daily bag
limit, or a larger possession limit than is provided in this
Code. set out in this Act are based upon a proper biological
balance being maintained for each species in each zone and
shall remain in effect as long as the population of each
species is adequate to maintain the biological balance of
each species.
For the purpose of the Section, a biological balance
exists for any species of wildlife when all losses to the
population of such species, are replaced by natural
reproduction or by artificial replacement, replenishment or
stocking.
If the Department, on its own initiative, or upon
recommendation of the Conservation Advisory Board, after
investigation, finds that the number of each sex of any
species is not adequate to maintain the biological balance of
such species it shall, with the approval of the Conservation
Advisory Board, by administrative rule, shorten or close the
season during which such species may be taken or decrease the
daily bag limit or the possession limit for such species.
The season limit, daily bag limit or possession limit
established by administrative rule may be changed by a
subsequent administrative rule so that a biological balance
for each species is maintained, but the Department may not
provide for a longer season, a larger daily bag limit or a
larger possession limit than is provided in this Act.
The Natural Resources Advisory Board may also recommend
to the Director of Natural Resources any reductions or
increases of seasons and bag or possession limits or the
closure of any season when research and inventory data
indicate the need for such changes.
The Department is authorized to establish seasons for the
taking of migratory birds within the dates established
annually by Proclamation of the Secretary, United States
Department of the Interior, known as the "Rules and
Regulations for Migratory Bird Hunting" (50 CFR 20 et seq.).
When the biological balance of any species is affected, the
Director may with the approval of the Conservation Advisory
Board, by administrative rule, lengthen, shorten or close the
season during which waterfowl may be taken within the federal
limitations prescribed. If the Department does not adopt an
administrative rule establishing a season, then the season
shall be as set forth in the current "Rules and Regulations
for Migratory Bird Hunting". The Department shall advise the
public by reasonable means of the dates of the various
seasons.
The Department may utilize the services of the staff of
the Illinois State Natural History Survey Division in the
Department of Natural Resources for making investigations as
to the population status of the various species of wildlife.
Employees or agents of any state, federal, or municipal
government or body when engaged in investigational work and
law enforcement, may with prior approval of the Director, be
exempted from the provisions of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
(520 ILCS 5/3.7) (from Ch. 61, par. 3.7)
Sec. 3.7. (a) Any person controlling land or water, or
both, for commercial purposes in whole or in part for the
taking of wild ducks or wild geese or for having the
privilege of taking wild ducks or wild geese thereon shall
make application for a Migratory Waterfowl Hunting Area
Permit (Commercial) and pay a basic annual permit fee of
$15.00 for each blind or pit on that land or water. Migratory
Waterfowl Hunting Area Permits shall be issued by the
Department on the basis of principal use. Permit holders are
entitled to harvest either wild ducks or wild geese. The
permits described in this Paragraph shall expire each year on
the day after the last day of the season during which it is
lawful to take migratory waterfowl.
(b) The following duties are imposed upon the holder of
a permit described in Paragraph (a) but only during duck and
Canada goose seasons:
(1) He shall require all hunters, including the
officers and employees of any licensed clubs, to register
daily, on the daily register forms provided by the
Department, prior to their hunting on the area covered by
his permit. The registration shall include each
registering hunter's name and mailing address.
(2) He shall require each hunter, at the completion
of each hunting day, to report the number and species of
migratory waterfowl the hunter has taken.
(3) He shall exhibit the daily registers described
in Sub-Section (1) and make them open to inspection by
authorized employees of the Department, any sheriff or
deputy sheriff, or any other peace officer of the State;
(4) He shall ensure the observance of the
provisions of this Act in the taking and possession of
migratory waterfowl by himself, his guests or employees
on the area covered by his permit;
(5) He shall forward at the end of each season for
the taking of migratory waterfowl, or at more frequent
times as may be requested by the Department, a report
upon blanks furnished by the Department, which report
shall set forth the number of each kind of bird taken
upon the area covered by his permit.
(c) An area's principal use shall be determined by the
composition of its harvest.
(Source: P.A. 87-174.)
(520 ILCS 5/3.8) (from Ch. 61, par. 3.8)
Sec. 3.8. Migratory waterfowl areas; geese.
(a) On any property operated under a Migratory Waterfowl
Hunting Area Permit (Commercial) where the principal use is
to take wild geese, it is the permit holder's duty to ensure
all of the following but only during Canada goose season:
(1) That no person takes wild geese except from a
blind or pit.
(2) That no person establishes or uses any blind or
pit for the taking of wild geese within 200 yards of any
other blind or pit or within 100 yards of the boundary of
the property on which the blind or pit is located.
(3) That no person establishes or uses any blind or
pit for the taking of wild geese within 200 yards of any
wildlife refuge boundary or public road right-of-way
adjacent to any State or Federal waterfowl refuge.
(b) On any property where the principal use is to take
wild geese in Alexander, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Union
and Williamson Counties, other than property operated under a
Migratory Waterfowl Hunting Area Permit (Commercial), all of
the following restrictions shall be observed but only during
Canada goose season:
(1) No person may take wild geese except from a
blind or pit and it shall be illegal to take or attempt
to take geese from the base of standing timber except
when immediately adjacent to an open field.
(2) No person may establish or use a blind or pit
within 100 yards of the boundary of the property on which
the blind or pit is located unless the minimum yardage
requirement cannot be met, in which case one pit or blind
may be permitted only if there is a minimum of 200 yards
between that pit or blind and the nearest pit or blind.
(3) No person may establish or use a blind or pit
for the taking of wild geese within 200 yards of any
wildlife refuge boundary or public road right-of-way
adjacent to any State or Federal waterfowl refuge.
(4) No more than the number of persons allowed by
administrative rule may occupy or attempt to take wild
geese from any blind or pit at the same time.
(Source: P.A. 87-174; 88-468.)