State officials estimate Illinois hunters will harvest about 150,000 deer this fall and winter.
Paul Shelton is the state Department of Natural Resources' Forest Wildlife Program Manager. He says that over the past four years hunters have harvested 144,000 to 155,000 deer annually.
Shelton says over the long term there's usually not "a lot of change between individual years."
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease still plagues some areas in the east central part of the state. But Shelton says there were few reports of the disease until archery hunters took the field this fall. He says overall the health of the herd looks good.
Bow season began this month, and the first firearm deer season will begin in November.
