Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Nov 17, 2022
Ubicada a lo largo de la línea estatal de Illinois e Indiana en el extremo sur de Chicago, el Área Recreativa Estatal de 631 acres William W. Powers, normalmente atrae a pescadores y cazadores de aves acuáticas que utilizan Wolf Lake, y es un destino para salidas familiares y picnics. Además, el sitio hizo historia en el otoño de 2022 cuando acogió un programa de caza de ciervos con tiro con arco, lo que resultó en el primer ciervo de cola blanca cazado en Chicago en más de 150 años.
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Nov 1, 2022
Located on the far south side of Chicago, the William W. Powers State Recreation Area typically attracts anglers and waterfowl hunters utilizing Wolf Lake, and is a destination for family outings. But history was made in the fall of 2022 when the site hosted an archery deer hunting program—resulting in the first white-tailed deer harvested in Chicago in more than 150 years.
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Nov 1, 2022
The excitement of the harvest remains fresh in your mind, and you are anxious to snap a photo to help you recount the experience for years to come. Smartphones and tablets make quick work of taking photos of your harvest. But are those photos suitable for sharing with friends, family, or even a wider audience on social media?
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Nov 1, 2022
The thought of introducing muskie into Illinois’ lakes began in the early 1980s when muskie fishing enthusiasts vacationing in the Northwoods began talking to administrators and Fisheries Biologists from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources about introducing muskies. The Fox Chain O’ Lakes (Chain), in Lake and McHenry counties was one of the first stocking locations chosen.
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Nov 1, 2022
Besides a comprehensive understanding of furbearers, lures and baits are the most common strategy trappers use to try to increase their odds of success. Folks might be wondering what’s the difference between the two. Read on to learn more.
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A message from Chief Mike Wefer
Welcome to the November 2022 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.
Aug 1, 2022
Managing the fisheries resources in Illinois has been ongoing for 200 years, and the role of the Division of Fisheries is broad. Staff implement programs and policies to monitor management of fish populations for the protection and restoration of their habitats. Measures are implemented to control aquatic nuisance species. Diverse recreational fishing opportunities are created.
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Aug 1, 2022
Illinois is approaching the end of the twentieth year of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management in the white-tailed deer population in the state. In addition to management, the dynamic nature of CWD in Illinois necessitates periodic surveys of deer hunters to monitor hunter perceptions and attitudes toward CWD management actions.
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Aug 1, 2022
Reports of hemorrhagic disease in the U.S. date to the late 1800s when residents in the South described a condition affecting deer as black tongue. Read here about the viruses responsible for two of the major vector-borne viral diseases affecting domestic and wild ruminants in the U.S.
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Aug 1, 2022
Taking up the sport of hunting can be a lot harder for individuals who did not grow up around it or have a place to go. This is particularly true in Illinois, where 97 percent of land is privately owned. For many hunters, even seasoned ones, finding a place to hunt has become more difficult.
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Aug 1, 2022
Although the relentless heat of summer seems to be never ending, the 2022 fall turkey hunting seasons are right around the corner. County permits are available either via lottery or over-the-counter and are very abundant. There are many state sites open to the season as well.
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Aug 1, 2022
Hunters may view squirrel hunting as an activity for young or novice hunters, however, squirrel hunting is a great opportunity to get afield and obtain a unique and tasty source of wild game and can be quite challenging.
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Aug 1, 2022
The Illinois Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has been collaborating with private landowners in the Illinois and Kaskaskia River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program areas to restore, enhance and preserve natural habitats. The collaboration creates many benefits.
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Aug 1, 2022
If there is an education to be had in wild spaces, then the Cache River State Natural Area is quite the classroom. Located within Johnson, Massac, and Pulaski counties, the more than 17,000 acres of state land provides diverse habitats that foster a spectacular level of native biodiversity.
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Aug 1, 2022
The Illinois Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was created through an agreement between USDA/FSA and the state in March 1998. In 2015, the Illinois CREP program was placed under suspension due to the lack of a state budget. After CREP funding was reinstated in 2017, IDNR and FSA began the process to restart the program.
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Aug 1, 2022
The Sangamon River historically supported more than 40 species of mussels, but today just 29 remain with 25 species found in the upper portions of the Sangamon. Although they have disappeared from many lakes and streams over the last century, freshwater mussels still remain abundant in many places in Illinois.
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Aug 1, 2022
The gray squirrel in Illinois, and much of the United States for that matter, has seen its share of changes over the years. A lover of big timber and heavy tree canopy, the gray squirrel has seen much of that habitat disappear, consequently they have had to adjust their living habits to survive.
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Aug 1, 2022
Winter and early spring burns give a competitive advantage to aggressive, warm-season, tall grass species by suppressing desirable forb species. Without varying burn timing, land managers usually end up with low-diversity, grass-dominated plantings. In recent years, one tool used to help correct this imbalance is burning during the summer growing season.
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Aug 1, 2022
A preview of the 2022–2023 Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations reveals updates to drone use while hunting, the use of certain single shot centerfire rifles to hunt deer and a change pertaining to hunting coyotes from tree stands.
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Aug 1, 2022
Imagine for a moment the great southern deep-water swamps. They are filled with ancient bald cypress and water tupelo trees, whose buttresses are enormous, swollen, and large enough for a person to walk into in some cases. Can this possibly be in Illinois?
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Aug 1, 2022
While surveying fish at Buttonland Swamp, Hannah Holmquist discovered a fish she had never seen before. It was later confirmed by a biologist that it was the taillight shiner, thought to have been extirpated from the state. “I was ecstatic,” said Holmquist.
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Aug 1, 2022
Relocating the roundpod primrose-willow in Illinois was a shot in the dark. But the light went on one summer day in 2019, when Illinois botanists Paul Marcum, Eric Ulaszek and David Ketzner were surveying a tract in Pope County that had been purchased by the Illinois Audubon Society.
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Aug 1, 2022
The unique nature of the bald cypress and water tupelo swamps that are the hallmark of the Coastal Plain Natural Division also provide this area habitat for a small but loud species of frog. In these swamps one encounters the northernmost part of the range for a frog that sounds more like a bird than a frog.
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Aug 1, 2022
Fishing is an activity that can create memories that can last over the years. It is astonishing that an activity that is relatively low in time and monetary cost can create experiences that bring multi-generational friends and family together for quality time. Read on for tips to help keep fishing stress free.
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Aug 1, 2022
Bird dogs have a knack for changing the trajectory of their humans’ lives. Non-hunters become hunters. Urban people head to the fields. Sedentary people become active. New friendships grow. Just what is it about bird dogs that is so captivating? What magic do they work to change a person’s life?
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Aug 1, 2022
Up until the early 1900s, “milk sickness” caused by white snakeroot poisoning was a relatively common, ever-present danger for settlers and farmers who pastured cattle on woodlands and waste ground and drank milk or ate meat from their own cows. Once you become familiar with the growth habits, habitat, and appearance of of this native perennial, it is easy to identify.
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Aug 1, 2022
Whether at the birdfeeder, along a brushy fencerow, or flying overhead, American goldfinches possess a cheerful demeanor. Their characteristic twitter is unmistakable, and nothing is quite as uplifting as a flock of goldfinches passing overhead. Your mood will lift, if you pay attention to them.
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Aug 1, 2022
Springtime in Illinois is often a time for listening for the songs of migratory birds. One migrant’s call is best described as a raspy, nasal “peent.” Those recognizing the call shift their focus from the ground to the sky, watching for a robin-sized bird to make an explosive, steep and spiraling upward flight of nearly 300 feet followed by a plummeting descent.
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Aug 1, 2022
Clint Carter is the President of the Midwest Fish Cooperative, a group of commercial fishing crews that, in 18 months, pulled 8 million pounds of bighead, silver, grass and black carp from the river. Today, he joins an effort to showcase these four invasive species under the banner of “Copi,” and the slogan “Eat Well. Do Good.”
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Aug 1, 2022
Survey and Assessment of Large-river fishes in Illinois has been ongoing since 1957. Collaboration with research partners make it possible to not only provide robust data to Illinois managers and stakeholders, but also conduct important and informative research with these data.
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Aug 1, 2022
Surrounded by acres of woods in Mason County, protected by barbed wire fences and flanked by dozens of ponds, a visitor could mistake the massive compound for a castle. Quite an appropriate comparison for a hatchery that houses royalty.
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