Jan 18, 2022
Learn about the Illinois National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Internship program in an question and answer session conducted by the Living with Wildlife Illinois team. Listen in to hear what Interns enjoyed most about the program.
More
A message from Chief Ann Holtrop
Welcome to the November 2021 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.
Nov 23, 2021
Curious about goose banding? Randy Smith from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources joins us for a Q&A on Canadian geese banding efforts. Listen in to learn more.
MoreNov 22, 2021
Interested in participating in bird banding efforts? Randy Smith from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources joins us for a Q&A on bird banding. Listen in to discover how to get involved.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Somehow hunting missed the author’s generation in his family. Curious in learning more about hunting, the author shares his experience as a participant in the Illinois Learn to Hunt program, and his time as a new hunter.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The Illinois Learn to Hunt program is working to bolster participation in hunting by providing comprehensive, hands-on educational experiences for adults interested in learning why, how and where to hunt wild game in Illinois.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The calls of the bird-voiced treefrog may perk up any birder’s ears. Those familiar with the species know that it is not a feathered friend making those rapid bird-like whistles, but instead is a small, understudied state-threatened amphibian.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Visualizing a new trend is difficult at the beginning, especially when it comes to new migration patterns in geese. Discovering why the patterns are shifting is difficult as it involves factors that affect migration, including weather.
MoreNov 1, 2021
For those of us who are engaged with the natural world, there are those special places that we return to again and again. One such place is Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve.
MoreNov 1, 2021
In an effort to protect Illinois white-tailed deer from chronic wasting disease (CWD), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is constantly evaluating and improving the CWD surveillance and management program.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The author, Tim Kelley, shares fond memories of time spent working together with his family outdoors in the trapping business. Quality time outdoors brought his family closer together and helped make lasting memories.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Restoring diverse native plant communities is often a central goal for conservation projects. Monitoring plant communities over time is a relatively easy way for land managers to track if conservation efforts are reaching biological goals.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Lake Forest Open Lands teamed up with Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves to seek a long-term, sustainable solution to conserve natural areas. They decided that a dedicated, well-mentored work, learn, and lead stewardship community offered the best chance to succeed.
MoreNov 1, 2021
While our use of salt is effective at improving conditions for transportation, the introduction of salt is problematic for infrastructure, water supplies and wildlife. Learn about a new citizen science program to monitor salt levels in winter-time streams.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is working to preserve this rare species where a stronghold remains in five counties—Mason, Menard, Cass, Morgan and Tazewell. A computer model now helps biologists locate potential sites for a plant that may lie dormant in the soiI for years.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Terry Esker, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Stewardship Specialist, experienced an eureka moment when he saw plants with five pink petals and a yellow center in a field. Further investigation revealed it was the largest concentration of the state-endangered prairie rose gentian.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Bats use both echolocation and vision to navigate, forage and escape threats. Echolocation is not only useful for bats, but also for researchers. Researchers can study acoustic data from the soundwaves produced by echolocating bats to give insight on many aspects of their lives.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Earnest Ballard dreamed of creating a space where people could learn about and enjoy the natural resources surrounding them. Ballard’s efforts to restore land were amplified in September 2020 when 83.5 acres were permanently registered as an Illinois Land and Water Reserve.
MoreNov 1, 2021
“They’re all sitting on the refuge.” It’s a dreaded retort among waterfowl hunters, so why do public and private land managers set aside disturbance free wetlands? Read on to learn more.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The unique appearance and behavior of black-bellieds is enough to pique interest in birders, biologists, and hunters. They’re catching more attention now with their expanding range.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Ready for the upcoming waterfowl hunting season? Check out the insights gathered on habitat and populations of waterfowl by IDNR Division of Wildlife Resources Wetland Wildlife Program Manager Randy Smith.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) numbers have been declining across the Midwest. To further our understanding of this trend, researchers at Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory at Southern Illinois University are conducting a study on gray fox ecology in Illinois.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Documenting patterns of coyote occurrence statewide or within small spatial scales is still somewhat limited. Yet this information is critical to wildlife biologists as they manage the potential for human-coyote conflicts and to better understand the influence coyotes have on other species.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Sleety rain? No big deal when you’re inside a tree cavity. Likewise for wind-driven snow. Even below-zero temperatures are moderated by the heat of warm bodies piled together and surrounded by layers of wood and bark.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Nate Grider views his role within the Division of Wildlife Resources as a conduit and a catalyst, providing the expert staff in each program with the tools they need to complete their jobs efficiently and help them navigate issues.
MoreNov 1, 2021
The horned lark is the only true lark in North America. The yellowish-white face and throat, black mask, and small black “horns” of feather tufts on top of its head make it easy to identify. There are plenty of opportunities to view horned larks since they are a common permanent year-round Illinois resident.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Historically, red-headed woodpeckers depended on woodlands with openings and savannas for habitat. They still do. However, most of us don’t appreciate the role a century of central and northern Illinois prairie-placed farms played in the lives of red-headed woodpeckers.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Nestled on 635 acres in southeastern Illinois, visitors to Beall Woods State Park and Beall Woods Nature Preserve can experience one of the few remaining tracts of virgin old-growth forest east of the Mississippi River.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Gazing at a map of Illinois’ natural divisions, the Wabash Border Natural Division hardly seems inspiring. Within this long, zigged-zagged, natural division lie some of our state’s greatest natural gems.
MoreNov 1, 2021
A team of land management professionals and biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Openlands and Ducks Unlimited, as well as additional partners and volunteers, are content to wait the few years it will take for restored wetlands to become functional.
MoreNov 1, 2021
Doug Brown from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources joins us for a Q&A on dove banding. Listen in to learn how to spot the differences between an adult and a juvenile dove.
More