St. Charles, county targets duck hunting

St. Charles is working with Kane County officials to put more restrictions on duck hunting season, which starts Saturday.

Residents who live along the Fox River in St. Charles and in the unincorporated area north of the city have complained about the noise and found shot pellets on their property on weekends, said Brian Townsend, St. Charles city administrator.

No one has been injured from the shots or had any serious property damage, he said.

St. Charles has made it illegal to discharge a firearm within city limits and has worked with the park district to ban firearms on public property, such as the boat launch on Boy Scout Island.

But other parts along the river are unincorporated, so the city needs the county's help, Townsend said.

A proposal discussed by the county's public safety committee Thursday would make it illegal to shoot a gun within 300 yards of at least three homes or municipal limits.

It would not apply to self-defense or law enforcement.

"Basically we want to push it far enough away from these residents," Townsend said.

County board members said they wanted more information on the issue and will revisit it next month.

Townsend hopes it helps get out the message to hunters along the Fox.

"We don't even know if hunters know how disruptive they're being," he said.