SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Chambana Today) — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has revised the South Zone waterfowl season dates for the 2026-2030 seasons based on input from waterfowl hunters.

The new plan states that the South Zone season will start in mid-November, run for 23 days, then have a 12-day break. The season will then restart in mid-December and run for an additional 37 days. The revised break will accommodate South Zone hunters’ concerns about families and youth having the opportunity to hunt over holiday breaks.

IDNR will also hold a youth hunt day at the end of the South Zone season in late January as a pilot program.  

Illinois will move forward with a three-zone structure in which the South and South-Central zones are combined into one South Zone. The state previously had four zones. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations require states to establish zone lines for a five-year period, meaning these zone lines will be in effect for the 2026-2030 waterfowl seasons.  

A map of waterfowl zone lines for the 2026-2030 seasons, as well as season dates for each zone, can be found online here.

Season dates and zone lines for the 2025-2026 hunting season can be found in IDNR’s current hunting and trapping digest or on the Hunt Illinois website.