Deer Permits

DNR lets many hunters skip lottery, audit finds

By CHRIS YOUNG OUTDOORS EDITOR Published Wednesday, April 11, 2007

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has issued an unusual number of "courtesy" deer- and turkey-hunting permits - permits that didn't have to go through the normal license lottery system, according to an audit released Tuesday. Among those for whom administrative approvals were issued were Illinois Conservation Foundation donors, professional athletes, judges and politicians, state Auditor General William Holland's office said.

DNR issued 1,250 deer- and turkey-hunting permits through an administrative approval process during the two-year period ending June 30, 2006, covered by the audit.

The Illinois Wildlife Code allows the DNR director to issue courtesy non-resident hunting permits to conservation officials from states that are working in cooperation with Illinois. It also grants leeway for hunting permits to be given to government officials, dignitaries and others who are guests of the governor or DNR director.

However, the audit said, DNR had "failed to make the administrative approval process open to the public, resulting in preferential treatment for certain hunters."

"This (administrative permit) process allows for a hunter to obtain a deer- or turkey-hunting permit without going through the lottery system, or to obtain a permit if the hunter was unsuccessful in obtaining a permit though the lottery process," the report said.

Names of those who got the permits were not included in the audit.

Among the findings related to hunting permits:

Paperwork was incomplete for 220 of 240 approvals scrutinized.

Permit applications were incomplete for 103 of the permits.

Permit fees were not charged for 53 of the 240 permits.

One person was issued 20 administrative permits, but auditors found no documentation that the person had paid for the permits. The fees should have totaled $600, the report said.

Similarly, "five representatives of an ammunition company were granted three permits each through administrative approval for permit year 2005 and there was not documentation of the payment for these permits, for which fees totaled $1,045," auditors found.

The department issued 27 youth hunt permits for Gallatin County, even though Gallatin County was not approved for youth hunting.

"Many administrative permits were issued to hunters who had received permits through the lottery, but the administrative permits often were for an earlier hunting season or an either-sex deer permit, "which is the preferred permit for many hunters," the audit said.

"Several administrative approvals were issued prior to the initial lottery, resulting in fewer permits available for other hunters."

Some approvals were granted after the lottery was completed, resulting in permits being issued in excess of target quotas. The quotas - based on the number of animals DNR biologists count and the number of hunters they expect in the field - were exceeded in 34 of 181 and 32 of 185 turkey-hunting areas in 2005-06, the report said. The report said 66 of 211 and 71 of 232 deer-hunting areas exceeded quotas for 2004-05.

The auditor general's report recommended that DNR establish policies and procedure to improve accuracy and completeness and to be sure actions were in compliance with the state's wildlife code.

DNR officials did not immediately return telephone calls Tuesday, but in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press, agency spokesman Chris McCloud said, "DNR feels it is well within its rights to issue permits in this manner."

In DNR's formal response included with the audit, the department agreed that the process of granting administrative approvals "needs significant improvement."

Chris Young can be reached at 788-1528 or chris.young@sj-r.com.