Catlin Park gets revised deer hunting schedule

Catlin Park visitors still can hunt white-tailed deer with a bow – park officials would, in fact, like to trim the overpopulation – but hunting season there was scaled back by a month.

On Thursday, the La Salle County Board revised the hunting rules at the 333-acre park in rural Ottawa. While archery hunting still is permitted, the season now is from November to Jan. 15, starting one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

There is no more hunting in October, however. The parks department had reported that few hunters come earlier than Nov. 1, and that the department could save manpower by reducing the season to those months when hunters are likely to show.