Section 710.22  Turkey Permit Requirements − Landowner/Tenant Permits

a)         The "immediate family" is defined as the spouse, children, and parents permanently residing on the same property as the landowner or tenant.

b)         A tenant for the purpose of this Part is one who rents 40 acres or more land for commercial agricultural purposes under an agreement with a landowner.  Commercial agriculture shall be defined as utilization of land for the raising of hay, grain crops or livestock for profit.  A hunting rights lease, or other non-agricultural lease, is not valid for a landowner or tenant permit.

c)         Resident landowners who own 40 acres or more of land, and resident tenants renting or leasing 40 acres or more of commercial agricultural land, and members of their immediate family may apply for one free turkey permit for their property only in counties open for turkey hunting.  Non-resident Illinois landowners of 40 or more acres of land and members of their immediate family are eligible to receive a permit for their property only for a fee of $37.50.  All landowners/tenants who do not reside on the property must possess a valid hunting license.

d)         Applicants for Landowner/Tenant permits must apply using the official application form.  Applications for Landowner/Tenant wild turkey permits must be submitted to:

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

POH Spring Wild Turkey Permit

One Natural Resources Way

P.O. Box 19227

Springfield IL  62794-9227

e)         Landowners or tenants are not required to participate in the public drawing for permits.  Landowner/tenant permits are valid for the entire 32 days encompassed by the 5 seasons, but allow the taking of only one wild turkey.  This turkey hunting permit shall be valid on all lands the permit holder owns, leases, or rents in counties open for spring turkey hunting.

f)          Recipients of Landowner/Tenant permits to hunt their owned or leased property may apply for a second permit in the third lottery (the first working day after February 8), and a third permit in the Random Daily Drawing period that begins the first working day after March 8.  Fees for these additional permits shall be $15 for residents and the maximum fee as allowed by Section 2.11 of the Wildlife Code [520 ILCS 5/2.11] for nonresidents.

g)         Proof of ownership for all landowner or tenant applications must be provided by one of the following methods:

1)         Submittal of a copy of property deed;

2)         Submittal of a copy of contract for deed;

3)         Submittal of copy of most recent real estate tax statement upon which landowner's name appears;

4)         Submittal of a copy of a Farm Service Agency 156EZ form; or

5)         Submittal of a copy of trust agreement which must indicate that the trust owns at least 40 acres and the applicant is a current income beneficiary of the trust.

h)         If you are applying for a tenant permit, you are required to submit, in addition to the landowner certification and proof of ownership, a copy of one of the following:

1)         Submittal of a copy of a lease (not a hunting rights lease) or rental agreement, file stamped as recorded by the County Clerk, covering the current year; or

2)         Submittal of a copy of a Farm Service Agency 156EZ form.

i)          If the property is owned or rented by more than one person:  Only one landowner (and his immediate family) or one tenant (and his immediate family) will be issued a permit for every 40 acres of owned or rented land.  For example, if 3 persons own 90 acres, only 2 of the landowners and their immediate families may receive turkey permits.

j)          Shareholder/Member/Beneficiary/Partner Landowner Permits

1)         Bona fide equity shareholders of corporations, bona fide equity members of limited liability companies, current income beneficiaries of trusts and bona fide equity partners of general or limited partnerships owning 40 or more acres of land in a county may apply for a free permit to hunt the corporation, limited liability company, trust or partnership lands only.  Only one permit per 40 acres, for a maximum number of 15 permits per county, shall be issued based on ownership of lands by corporations, trusts and limited liability companies.  Only one permit for 40 acres, for a maximum of 3 permits per county, shall be issued based on ownership of lands by partnerships.  Lands leased to corporations, limited liability companies, trusts or partnerships shall not be considered as a basis for a free permit for the shareholders/members/beneficiaries/partners of the lessee.  Lands held in trust by corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships shall not be considered as a basis for a free permit by the shareholders/members/partners of the trustee.  If application is made for a free permit based upon lands owned by the corporation, limited liability company, trust or partnership, a duly authorized officer of the corporation, limited liability company, trust or partnership must sign a notarized statement authorizing the applicant to hunt on the corporate, company, trust or partnership lands for which a permit is being requested.  This statement must identify the applicant as a bona fide equity shareholder, member, beneficiary or partner as defined in subsections (j)(2), (3) and (4), identify authorization to hunt and identify that no more than 15 authorizations will be requested per county for the corporation, limited liability company, trust or partnership lands.  This document must be attached to the application upon submittal to the Permit Office.  This shareholder/member/beneficiary/partner turkey permit shall be free to resident shareholders/members/beneficiaries/partners and the cost to nonresident shareholders and members shall be $37.50.  Nonresident partners are not eligible to receive permits for partnership lands.

2)         Bona fide equity shareholder means an individual who:

A)        purchased, for market price, publicly sold stock shares in a corporation; purchased shares of a privately-held corporation for a value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the corporate assets represented by the ownership in the corporation; or is a member of a closely-held family-owned corporation and has purchased or been gifted with shares of stock in the corporation accurately reflecting his or her percentage of ownership; and

B)        intends to retain the ownership of the shares of stock for at least 5 years.

3)         Bona fide equity member means an individual who:

A)        became a member upon the formation of the limited liability company; or has purchased a distributional interest in a limited liability company for a value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the limited liability company assets represented by the distributional interest in the limited liability company and subsequently becomes a member of the company pursuant to Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company Act [805 ILCS 180].

B)        intends to retain the membership for at least 5 years.

4)         Current income beneficiary means an individual who, at the time of application for a permit, is entitled to income (whether income exists or not) from the trust that owns the land the applicant wishes to hunt with no condition precedent (such as surviving another person, reaching a certain age, etc.) other than the trustee distributing the income, and is listed by name in the trust documents as an income beneficiary.

5)         Bona fide equity partner means an individual who:

A)        became a partner, either general or limited, upon the formation of a partnership or limited partnership, or has purchased, acquired, or been gifted a partnership interest accurately representing his or her percentage distributional interest in the profits, losses, and assets of a partnership or limited partnership;

B)        intends to retain ownership of the partnership interest for at least 5 years; and

C)        is a resident of Illinois as defined in Section 2.26 of the Wildlife Code.

(Source:  Amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 16476, effective November 28, 2007)