Nov 1, 2023
Using trail cameras is an enjoyable activity—and will help teach you about deer and the environment in which they live. A simple spreadsheet nothing the time of day of the photos, and the age and sex of the deer, turns mountains of picture data into something really useful. Give this author’s method a try and see if maybe you can swing “luck” in your favor.
MoreNov 1, 2023
Neighborhoods reverberating with the sounds of lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Streets lined with paper bags filled to the brim with leaf “litter” and yard “waste.” With increasing awareness about declining populations of pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, it is time to rethink fall yard “clean up.” Here are five things you can do this fall that will make your yard more wildlife-friendly this season and throughout the year.
MoreNov 1, 2023
Curious visitors strolling past Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo stop and marvel at the large birds clustered just over the fence. Illinois-endangered black-crowned night-herons have nested at the Park for 17 years, providing a wild and magical encounter for passersby.
MoreNov 1, 2023
Part 3 – Bush Honeysuckle; A Hunter’s Foe
When the hunting season is over and the season for habitat management begins, many people take to the woods to tackle an environmental disaster—the invasion of bush honeysuckle. Author Nathan Grider shares his experiences removing bush honeysuckle to improve wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities.
MoreNov 1, 2023
Working within an urban landscape, teams of boat crews survey the fisheries of the Chicago River each spring and fall. These surveys are designed to assure that bighead, and silver have not breached the downstream electric barrier and harvest efforts in place to prevent these invasive species from approaching Lake Michigan.
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A message from Chief Mike McClelland
Welcome to the November 2023 edition of the online magazine OutdoorIllinois Journal, featuring timely, seasonally based stories about the Prairie State’s wildlife resources, with an expansion of content to include a broader range of subjects—including endangered and threatened species and Illinois’ unique, high-quality habitats and the people working to preserve, protect and manage these resources.
Sep 8, 2023
The day in mid-March started out like any other, until a Highway Department employee found something totally unexpected at the side of the road in Rockford. The discovery of a possible fisher (Pekania pennanti) warranted a call to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Sep 8, 2023
To continue adding to our understanding of wild turkey ecology, behavior, and their response to forest management activities, Illinois Natural History Survey researchers are studying hen turkeys in western, central and south-central Illinois.
Sep 8, 2023
La erosión costera es un problema que ha afectado durante mucho tiempo las costas de los Grandes Lagos. La investigación a través del Programa Futuros Puertos Saludables (Healthy Port Futures) de la Iniciativa de Restauración de los Grandes Lagos está probando la efectividad de los Rompeolas Sumergidos, también conocidos como “Rubble Ridges.”
Sep 8, 2023
Para Alex Davis, las conexiones que uno hace durante la cacería se volvieron más claras mientras estaba sentada en un escondite durante su primera cacería de pavos en primavera. Sentada con una amiga y colega, aprendió valiosas lecciones, incluyendo la investigación y preparación para la cacería… y aprendió también a mantenerse quieta.
Sep 8, 2023
El mejor escenario para criar a los jóvenes a menudo implica un esfuerzo comunitario, muchas personas trabajando juntas para proporcionar un entorno seguro. Esto se demostró notablemente en julio del 2023 cuando tres chorlitejos silbadores, una especie en peligro de extinción a nivel federal, fueron trasladados desde donde fueron criados en cautiverio hasta su lugar de liberación en Montrose Beach, Chicago.
Sep 8, 2023
Si este otoño está buscando una salida familiar divertida al aire libre, quiere el desafío de un pez difícil de atrapar o está interesado en una comida sabrosa y fresca, considere la temporada de otoño del 2023 de truchas capturables en Illinois. Casi 60 sitios en todo el estado abrirán a las 5 de la mañana del 16 de octubre para el inicio de la temporada.
Sep 8, 2023
La temporada de otoño es una época emocionante ya que marca el comienzo de las temporadas de caza de otoño. Revise los consejos del sargento Steven Beltran de IDNR para hacer que esta temporada de caza sea segura y productiva tanto para los cazadores jóvenes como para los mayores.