Il dnr
 

I was reading the local newspaper and I came across an article about the DNR paying land owners to allow hunters to access there land they say it will be starting in 2011 the land owners would receive payments like they do for the conservation reserve program it will be interesting to see how this works out and I wonder if it would put a hamper on the outfitters.I think it said 94% of the land here in IL is privately owned.

Kansas has been doing that for some time now. It's the WIHA program. The program is good for giving people a place to hunt BUT land owners can still run their livestock on the ground that's enrolled. Try quail hunting or deer hunting with 150 cows following you. The program benefits the land owner more than the public hunters.
Live it up! Doug

I see what your saying I have never been to Kansas but you most likely have large amounts of rolling grass land we don't have that here,there is a lot of cattle here but I don't think it is like Kansas.

It's not that bad. You can find some real quality WIHA land if you do your homework and do a little scouting. I found a primo piece of property that has everything; great cover, awesome food-source, plenty of water and most importantly, signs of huge deer. I think it would be a great addition to any state hunting program.

Hey Mo-Ks congrats on finding a good place to hunt in the Walk In Hunting. I'm not saying the program is bad. I can tell you I have driven hundreds of miles around my area checking all the WIHA's and all the places I looked at had cows grazing. With the thousands of acres enrolled in the program a person would have to be able to find at least a few good spots. Seems like for the most part the land owners in my area are benefiting more than the hunters, because they are getting paid to let people have hunting access and still graze their livestock so nobody is going to hunt it that way. Good luck this season!
Live it up! Doug

You would be surprised at the bucks that are in the cattle pens here where I live,I am talking real monsters but the cattle pens are mostly wooded some wooded with a few swamps but the deer are thick in there.

I like this idea. Do the landowners have any say in the quality/type of deer allowed to be killed? Are all hunters allowed to hunt the land or do you have to get permissions?

No that would be way too unwieldy. Basically, farmers are paid to open portions of their land to the public. The land is posted with a white WIHA sign on several of the boundries. All WIHA land is posted online and in a large map booklet that shows section road level detail with the WIHA highlighted in black. I will go one step further and make google earth printouts to do a little "satellite" scouting. If you want more detail check it out:

http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-In...-Hunting-Atlas

It really is an excellent program that I'm glad to support with my tax dollars. :party0005:

I dont know much about it,seems like Mo Hunter knows a lot about it,I am not sure how the land owners here in Illinois will act would probably need to pay them a good chunk of money to get them to allow any hunters in but I could be wrong.