The Illinois Department of Natural Resources would like to announce a few changes for the 2018 deer hunting season. Ed Cross, who is an employee of the IDNR, said that because of low deer numbers in Champaign, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties, the state is only allowing archery hunters to bag antlered deer during the 1st 2 weeks of archery season. Similar restrictions for archery deer hunters occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s. this will be done so that deer populations can boost up in those counties. Also the department is putting out the warning about epizootic hemorrhagic disease or better known as EHD to deer across the state. 55 suspected cases have already been reported, making it a low to a moderate concern. The Department of Natural Resources in Illinois also wants landowners, farmers and hunters to report dead or dying deer on their property, so that they can investigate and determine whether or not EHD was the cause of their death.