ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

J.B. Pritzker, Governor | illinois.gov

Wildlife Illinois

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Green River State Wildlife Area

Site Contact Info

Site Characteristics

Site Specific Regulations

  • All statewide hunting regulations apply at site unless noted hereafter.
  • Site requires use of windshield card, displayed on vehicle dashboard, to report hunting effort and harvest by 15 February.
  • Use Hunt Planner to find hunting seasons open at this site.
  • Species-specific rules:

Deer

  • Legal hunting devices as described in 17 Ill. Adm. Code, Section 650.30 a)
  • One non-piercing, portable tree stand per person is allowed. Tree stands may be left unattended from Sept 15 – Jan 31. Stands must be marked with the hunter’s name, address, and phone number.

Archery

  • Closed during firearm deer season, but open during the statewide muzzleloader deer season.
  • Not required to sign in/out of the site daily, but must report visits and harvest via the windshield card.

Firearm

  • Requires a site-specific permit issued by Springfield.
  • Permit holders must check in by 5 am.
  • Vacancies after 5 am will be filled by a drawing for stand-by. Stand-by permits are valid for that day only, are site-specific, and are $5.00 each. No other deer permits are required.
  • Non-resident stand-by deer hunters are required to have a non-resident hunting license and a habitat stamp.
  • Firearm deer hunters are required to sign in prior to hunting and to check out and report harvest immediately after the conclusion of the hunt at the hunter check station.  
  • Harvested deer must also be checked  in/reported by phone as outlined in the statewide rules & regulations for reporting harvest. Hunters should specify that the deer was harvested on a special hunt area (Green River SWA) and not as harvested in Lee County.

CWD Season

  • County-specific deer permit (Lee County) required.
  • An unfilled Springfield-issued Green River SWA 1st or 2nd season firearm permit can be used in the late winter antlerless season.

Youth

  • Youth hunters must have a valid Lee County Youth Deer Permit issued by the IDNR permit office.
  • Youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting parent, guardian, or responsible adult with a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID).
  • Both the youth hunter and non-hunting adult must wear the required blaze orange garments.

Turkey

  • Archery
    • Archery turkey hunters are not required to sign in/out of the site daily but must report their visits and harvest via the windshield card.
    • Closed during firearm deer season, but open during the statewide muzzleloader deer season.
    • Archery hunters are required to wear blaze orange clothing.
  • Spring
    • Site-specific turkey permit required. Permits are issued through the Springfield permit office.
    • Limited number of hunters per day
    • Stand-by hunting not available
    • All turkeys harvested on this site must be checked in/reported via the statewide telephone reporting system as outlined on the hunting permit.
    • Hunters should report turkey as taken on a special hunt area (Green River SWA) and not as harvested in Lee County.
  • Spring Youth
    • Youth turkey hunters required to possess a Lee County specific permit.
    • Youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting parent, guardian, or responsible adult with a valid firearm owner’s identification (FOID) card.
    • Youth turkey hunters must check in and report harvested turkeys via the statewide telephone reporting system as outlined on the turkey hunting permit, and must report the harvested turkeys as taken on a special hunt area (Green River SWA) and not as taken in Lee County.

Waterfowl

  • Waterfowl hunting not permitted

Squirrels/Rabbits

  • Squirrels
    • Squirrel hunting is permitted from Aug 1 – Oct 31
    • Shotguns with steel shot of #3 or smaller, or with shot of # 5 or smaller for lead, tungsten or bismuth.
    • .22 caliber or smaller rimfire rifles, muzzleloading black powder rifles, or air rifles .25 caliber or smaller, and may use archery tackle of flu-flu arrows
    • Required to sign-in prior to hunting and to check-out and report harvest immediately after the conclusion of the hunt. Sign-in/check-out box is located at the hunter check station.
  • Rabbits
    • Rabbit hunting follows the non-fee pheasant and quail hunting rules.
    • Statewide hours and bag limit rules but is permitted generally only on Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays in Nov and Dec and is not permitted during firearm deer seasons. Contact site for specifics about each year’s dates.
    • Requires a permit from the IDNR permit office. Application period will be publicly announced.
    • Permit holder may bring up to 5 hunting partners.
    • All hunters are required to sign in prior to hunting and are required to check out and report harvest immediately after the conclusion of the hunt. Sign-in/check-out box is located at the hunter check station.
    • Shotgun or archery with flu-flu arrows.
    • Non-toxic shot is required, of the size #3 or smaller steel or tin shot, size #4 or smaller bismuth, or size #5 or smaller tungsten (iron-polymer matrix).
    • Hunters must wear adequate blaze orange.

Upland Birds

  • Pheasant (controlled/fee hunting)
    • Pheasant hunting with a bag limit of 2 roosters is permitted from 9 am – 4 pm on certain days. Contact site for specifics about each year’s dates.
  • Youth
    • Generally held on the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the second Friday and Saturday in November.
  • After youth pheasant hunting days, hunters may hunt generally on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in Nov and Dec, but pheasant hunting is not permitted during firearm deer hunting seasons.
  • All hunters are required to sign in prior to hunting.
  • Hunters must remain in assigned area for at least the first hour of hunting.
  • Hunters must check out/report harvest immediately after hunt’s conclusion. Sign-in/check-out box is located at the hunter check station.
  • Pheasant and Quail (non-fee hunting)
    • Non-fee pheasant and quail hunting by statewide hours and bag limit rules but permitted generally only on Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays in Nov and Dec. Contact site for specifics about each year’s dates.
    • Pheasant & quail hunting are not permitted during firearm deer seasons.
    • Requires a permit issued by the IDNR permit office. Application period will be publicly announced.
    • Permit holder may bring up to 5 hunting partners.
    • All hunters are required to sign-in prior to hunting.
    • Hunters are required to check-out and report harvest immediately after the conclusion of the hunt. Sign-in /check-out box is located at the hunter check station.
  • Pheasant and Quail Hunting (both controlled/fee and non-fee)
    • Shotgun or archery with flu-flu arrows
    • Non-toxic shot required, of size #3 or smaller steel or tin shot, size #4 or smaller bismuth, or size #5 or smaller tungsten (iron-polymer matrix)
    • Hunters must wear adequate blaze orange.
  • Dove
    • From Sept 1 – 5, hours are between 12 pm – 5 pm.
    • Check-in is from 9 am – 11 am. Permits are required, but if permits remain unfilled at drawing, stand-by hunting is available. 
    • From Sept 6 – 30, allowed without permits during statewide hours
    • All dove hunters (from Sept 1 – 30) are required to sign in prior to hunting and to check out and report harvest immediately after the conclusion of the hunt. Sign-in/check-out box is located at the hunter check station.
    • Dove hunting (from Sept 1 – 30) is by shotgun only and non-toxic shot is required, of size # 6 steel shot or size 7½ or smaller bismuth shot.
  • Crow
    • Permitted from Jan 1 – Feb 28, but is closed during the site’s firearm deer season. 
    • Crows may be hunted from ½ hour before sunrise to sunset.

Furbearers

  • Trapping
    • Furbearer trapping not permitted
  • Hunting
    • Statewide regulations
    • Rimfire rifles .22 caliber and smaller may be used from sunset to sunrise.
    • Furbearer hunting closed during Firearm Deer Season
      • Hunters with a valid, unfilled firearm deer permit for the hunt area may take coyotes during legal hours of the firearm deer season. Otherwise, the use of shotgun slugs to take furbearing mammals is prohibited on state sites.
    • Skunk and Coyote seasons close the last day of February

Amenities