COFFEEN, ILLINOIS, September 11 - The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will conduct a drawing in late September for three youth to hunt deer during the Illinois youth firearm deer season Oct. 7-9 at Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in Montgomery County.

The drawing will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29 at the park. The special youth hunter will take place at the park's upland management area. Participating youth must have a valid Montgomery County youth firearm deer permit.

To be eligible for the Sept. 29 drawing, the youth's name, date of birth, IDNR customer number (from hunting license, if available), mailing address, and contact telephone number must be printed on a 3-inch-by-5-inch postcard and received at the Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area office by close of business Sept. 28. Late entries will not be accepted.

Successful applicants will have until October 5 to apply for and report their Montgomery County youth firearm deer permit number to the Coffeen Lake site office. Failure to do so will result in losing the spot for the special youth hunt, and an alternate will be identified to take that spot.

To submit a postcard for the drawing by mail, send it to Coffeen Lake SFWA, P.O. Box 517, Coffeen IL 62017. For more information, contact the Ramsey Lake State Park office at 618-423-2215 or email adam.hayes@illinois.gov.