Archery Hunting Program

Click here for 2023-2024 Season Updated Rules

Click here for 2023-2024 BCCD Hunt Calendar

Archery Hunting Information

1. The BCCD Archery Hunt Program includes deer and turkey hunting. The Illinois seasons for deer and fall turkey hunting are coincidental. Participants will now be permitted to harvest deer and/or turkey following all State of Illinois rules and regulations as well as all BCCD Hunting Program rules and regulations. Participants will pay one archery hunt program participation fee and will be required to qualify as has been the tradition of the BCCD Archery Hunt Program.

2. All archery hunters are expected to accommodate firearm hunt program participants need to carry in and set-up stands. Additionally, firearm hunters are required to set their stands within 50 feet of their designated hunt stand location. Occasionally, these stand locations will be near a stand site selected by an archery hunter. Please recognize that the firearm hunters must conform to the stand location they are assigned to. Risk management criteria was used to establish firearm hunt stand locations, so we cannot alter them.

3. BCCD Property Borders, Trails, and Adjacent Inhabited Dwellings:    All hunters must remain at least 75 feet off all gravel or paved roadways. Hunters must be at least 30 yards inside conservation district property boundaries.  At Kinnikinnick – All hunters must remain at least 100 feet from any adjoining property, which typically means remaining on the interior side the equestrian trail.

a. Hunting Near Inhabited Dwellings: Illinois State Hunting Regulations state: “You cannot legally hunt or allow a dog to hunt within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling without first obtaining permission of the owner or tenant of the dwelling”. Except: A 100-yard restriction shall apply while trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, or hunting with shotgun using shotshells only, or on licensed game breeding and hunting preserve areas, on federally owned and managed lands, on IDNR-owned, -managed, -leased or -controlled lands.”

4. Archery Qualifications: Archery qualifications are held annually starting on the second Saturday in May (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.); the following Tuesday (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) and Thursday (noon to 7 p.m.). The qualifications are held at the Kishwaukee Valley Conservation Area located at 9416 U.S. Highway 20, Garden Prairie, Illinois. Each participant will pay a $10 qualification fee as well as a $55.00 non-refundable* deposit, which will be collected at the qualification site. The $10 fee helps defray the cost of BCCD staff conducting the qualifications and the $55 deposit will be applied to the annual hunting fee (see fee schedule below).  *If a participant fails to qualify a refund will be issued.

5.Site classifications: Sites are grouped into 3 different classifications.  Each class has a different number of available hunting days.

• Class 1 site (18 hunting days) sites open to hunting on select Friday-Sunday weekends throughout the archery season. Lib C/A, Ipsen Rd. C/A, Newburg Village C/A, and Distillery Road C/A.
• Class 2 site (54 hunting days) sites open to hunting on select Friday-Sunday weekends until November 15^th. Site open to hunting November 15^th – January 14^th except for firearm seasons.  Kinnikkinnick Creek C/A, Piscasaw Fen C/A, County Line East C/A, Sewel C/A, Silberhorn C/A, Savanna Oaks C/A, Kishwaukee Valley C/A, Funderburg North C/A (south of Woodstock Rd), and Funderburg south C/A.
• Class 3 site (85 hunting days) sites open to hunting from October 1^st-January 14^th except for firearm seasons. Ballard Farm C/A, Rainbow Gardens C/A, Beaver Bluffs C/A, Funderburg North C/A (north of Woodstock Road ONLY!), and Luckey Woods C/A.

6. Fee Schedule:   All fees are due by September 1st, 2023. Fees paid after September 1st will incur a $15 late charge. If fees are not paid in full by October 6th, 2023, hunting rights will be considered forfeited. 

• Class 1 site (18 hunting days)
  • Boone County Resident – adult =  $55
  • Boone County Resident – youth = $25
  • Non-resident – adult = $80
  • Non-resident – youth = $30
  • Program Participant Volunteers = Credited fee reduction
• Class 2 site (54 hunting days)
  • Boone County Resident – adult = $80
  • Boone County Resident – youth = $50
  • Non-resident – adult = $115
  • Non-resident – youth = $60
  • Program Participant Volunteers = Credited fee reduction
• Class 3 site (85 hunting days)
  • Boone County Resident – adult = $110
  • Boone County Resident – youth = $75
  • Non-resident – adult = $165
  • Non-resident – youth = $90
  • Program Participant Volunteers = Credited fee reduction

7. Location & Placement of Hunting Stands – or Sticker Day: Hunters will come to the BCCD Administration Office located at 603 North Appleton Road in Belvidere to select their archery stand locations by placing a sticker on an aerial photograph of their designated hunting area. The process will occur as follows:

a. There is no distinction between deer or turkey hunter for hunting stand selection. Everyone follows this process.

b. On Saturday, September 9th, 2023, qualified hunters will arrive at their designated time for sticker placement. Each conservation area will have a designated time – for example, hunters drawn to hunt at Kinnikinnick Conservation Area will have between 11:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. to enter the building and place their stickers on the aerial photograph to designate their hunting stand location.

c. The order by which hunters will place their stickers will no longer be based on a first come basis. The order will be determined by the order each hunter or hunting group is drawn when the lottery for site selection is done. However, this method will require hunters to be at the office at the beginning of their time slot to place their stickers as everyone in attendance will be arranged in the order that they were drawn during the site selection lottery.

d. If a hunter or hunting group is not able to arrive at the beginning of the time slot for their designated hunting area that hunter or hunting group will have the following options:

i. Arrival during their site’s time slot, but after the initial start time – may join the waiting line at their original placement or move ahead of the remaining individuals in line if they were drawn for an earlier selection number than those remaining in the line.

ii. Arrival after their designated time slot – If a hunter or group representative arrives after the designated time-period for placing stickers at their designated hunting area; that person(s) will be permitted to walk-in and place their sticker or group’s stickers on the site map.

iii. Is not able to participate on Sticker Day – Participants will be allowed to place stickers to designate their hunting stand location during regular business hours of the BCCD – or, if needed, arrange an appointment with a BCCD staff person to complete this task prior to hunting.

e. When it is your turn to enter the building, you will be provided with 1 to 4 stickers to mark your stand location, and if needed, the stand locations for other members of your designated hunting group. No one is permitted to place a sticker on a hunting map for someone who is not a member of their own hunting group.

f. Hunters will write their hunting permit number on the sticker(s) and place them on the conservation area aerial photo map that corresponds with you and/or your hunting group’s designated hunting area.

g. After you have placed your sticker(s) on the map of your designated hunting area we ask that you leave the building to keep the process moving.

h. The official hunting stand maps will be kept at the administration office throughout the archery hunt season.

i. Hunters may relocate their chosen stand site but must do so by coming into the office and making the change with BCCD staff assistance during regular business hours.

j. If necessary, it may be possible to request an appointment (with sufficient advanced notice) to meet a staff person and make a stand location change outside normal business hours.

k. Sticker Day is September 9th, 2023.

Schedule to place stickers and identify your hunting stand location:

i. Beaver Bluffs & Luckey Woods Conservation Area: 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
ii. Distillery Road Conservation Area: 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
iii. Ipsen Road & Newburg Village: 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
iv. Rainbow Gardens: 9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
v. Kinnikinnick Creek Cons. Area: 10:00 to 10:30 a.m.
vi. Lib & Savanna Oaks Conservation Area: 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.
vii. Piscasaw Fen Cons. Area: 10:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
viii. Ballard Farm Cons. Area: 11:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
ix. Kishwaukee Valley Cons. Area: 11:20 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.
x. East County Line Cons. Area:11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
xi. Funderburg Cons. Area North: 11:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
xii. Sewell & Silberhorn Cons. Area: 12:05 p.m. to 12:15 p.m.
xiii. Funderburg Cons. Area South: 12:15 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

8. Hunting Stands:
   1. All archery program participants are allowed to set-up one (1) hunting stand.
   2. Procedures for moving a stand to another location:
      • Prior to physically moving the stand a hunter shall.
      • Confirm the proposed stand location will not interfere with other hunter(s) by checking the current map of stand locations (stickers on aerial photo) with BCCD staff assistance.
      • Once approved by BCCD staff, the hunting stand can be moved.
   3. Sharing Hunting Stands: Members of a hunting group may permit other members of their hunting group to hunt from their individual hunting stand.  Groups may select to do this by checking the box on their hunting qualification paperwork indicting “I allow members of this hunting group to hunt from my stand.” Doing this will acknowledge the permission with all members of the hunting

9. No nails or spikes are to be driven into any trees. (No boot-type tree climbing aids are allowed.) Permanent tree stands are not allowed.

10. All tree stands must display an ID tag issued by the BCCD. The tag must be visible to read from the ground. Any tree stand or ground blind not displaying a BCCD issued ID tag will be in violation and removed.

11. All participants must use a safety harness specifically intended for use with elevated hunting stands.

12. Deer or turkey harvested on District property must be properly tagged before field dressing or being moved.

13. Harvested deer or turkey must be reported to the BCCD by the hunter who harvested the animal. The following information is required: 1) sex of the deer 2) date & time deer was harvested 3) conservation area where deer was harvested. Similar information is required for reporting a turkey harvest. Hunters may e-mail this information to the BCCD at: office@bccdil.org or call (815)547-7935.

14. All harvested deer must be tested by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for Chronic Wasting Disease provided the IDNR conducts the testing at no cost to BCCD Archery Hunt Program participants.

15. Any participant wishing to track a wounded deer or turkey in an adjoining conservation area that is part of the BCCD archery hunt program is allowed to search for the animal.

16. Any participant wishing to track a wounded deer or turkey outside the approved conservation area must obtain permission from the private property owners.

17. No field dressing of deer or turkey on hiking trails, along roadways, or in parking lot. Do not cover entrails with leaves, grass, etc.

18. No participant may possess firearms while on District property and participating in the BCCD archery hunt program – except as permitted by state and/or federal law.

19. No cutting of vegetation which has a stem diameter of larger than two inches. At Kinnikinnick, only minimal trimming of vegetation is permitted or allowed.

20. Use of plastic flagging, spray paint or other non-removable methods to mark trails is strictly prohibited. All removable trail markers shall be removed by the same date that stands must be removed.

Hunting Dates and Times:

• click here to view 2023 – 2024 calendar 

Note: There are three Archery hunting schedule options that are dependent on the specific conservation areas that are open to archery and/or firearm hunting. The Boone County Conservation District closes some sites to general public use during the late fall through early spring snow season. Sites that are closed to general public access have extended archery hunting opportunities. Sites that will remain open and maintained during this period of time will have fewer hunting dates available to provide other patrons with access and recreational use of these sites. Please give this consideration when you rank the site preference on your forms or group sign-up.

CLASS 1 SITES: Conservation Areas included in BCCD hunting program that remain open in the Winter Season: (these sites offer 6 weekends or 18 days to hunt) These sites are colored RED on the 2023-2024 Calendar.

• Distillery Road Conservation Area; including:
  • Anderson Woods Conservation Area
  • Nelson’s Ford Conservation Area
• LIB Conservation Area
• Ipsen Road/Newburg Village Conservation Area
• Total # of Potential Hunters: 30

Adult Resident	$55.00
Adult Non-Resident	$80.00
Youth Resident	$25.00
Youth Non-Resident	$30.00

CLASS 2 SITES: Conservation Areas included in BCCD hunting program and subject to seasonal closure are: (these sites offer 54 days available to hunt)  These sites and dates are colored BLUE on the 2023-2024 Calendar.

• County Line East Conservation Area
• Funderburg North – south of Woodstock Rd.
• Funderburg South Conservation Area
• Kinnikinnick Creek Conservation Area
• Kishwaukee Valley Conservation Area
• Piscasaw Fen Conservation Area
• Silberhorn Conservation Area
• Total # of Potential Hunters: 48

Adult Resident	$80.00
Adult Non-Resident	$115.00
Youth Resident	$50.00
Youth Non-Resident	$60.00

CLASS 3 SITES: Conservation Areas included in BCCD hunting program that are not yet open to general public use or public access: (these sites offer 85 days available to archery hunt). These sites are colored GREEN on the 2023-2024 Calendar.

• Ballard Farm
• Beaver Bluffs Conservation Area
• Funderburg North – north of Woodstock Rd.
• Luckey Woods Conservation Area
• Rainbow Gardens Conservation Area
• Total # of Potential Hunters: 30

Adult Resident	$110.00
Adult Non-Resident	$165.00
Youth Resident	$75.00
Youth Non-Resident	$90.00

Hunting Program Participation Fee

Hunters that have successfully qualified and been assigned a conservation area to hunt are required to pay their participation fee in full by September 1st, 2023. The $55 deposit ($25 for youth) collected at the qualification will be deducted from the participation fee. Beginning in 2022, a new fee schedule has been adopted that factors in participant’s residency and status as a youth hunter (17 and younger). Please see fee schedules above.

Fee Reduction Option

Hunters may elect to volunteer at BCCD to reduce the cost of their hunting fee. Volunteers may contribute as much time as they would like, but the maximum reimbursement or reduction of the fee shall not exceed the dollar value of the fee itself. If you volunteer more hours than needed to reduce your fee, you do so as a donation of your time. You do not receive compensation for any additional hours volunteered. The fee reduction does not apply to your deposit.

Anyone wishing to participate in this option must coordinate in advance with the BCCD Program Support Coordinator, Mark Freedland. All volunteer opportunities, including days and times, are scheduled by BCCD.