I think it could be due to the fact that there is minimal amounts of ground available for local hunters. With thousands of acres of hunting ground being leased and outfitted, it leaves many local hunters scrounging for what small parcels they had and public ground access is minimal in IL. The outfitted and leased acres, not all the time but often times, is not being properly managed, i.e. harvesting does to keep the ratio down. When you consider the thousands upon thousands of acres that locals hunted using the "brown its down" management technique, that they are not able to hunt due to outfitting/leasing, overall harvest numbers are bound to drop.

I know ofa neighboring 1000 acre prime hunting area that only harvested one doe this entire bow/gun season.....how is that helping the Illinois deer heard?

These are only my opinions and I am sure there are outfitters and folks that lease big farms that manage properly and harvest does, but in my experiences with some of the local outfitted farms......it is nothing to see 30-40 does in a field on these very areas.......which screams improper management techniques.