We’re pleased to announce that the November 2024 edition of the online magazine OutdoorIllinois Journal is now live. Take a few moments to peruse this edition for the many timely, natural resource-based stories it contains. Here's a taste of seven of the new articles as well as a quick rundown of some of the other stories you will find in this issue.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 1,044,000 people 16 years of age and older, both residents and non-residents, fished Illinois waters in 2011. Perhaps new to the number of anglers in the next USFWS report are some of the veterans who are enjoying fishing with the Chicago No Limits Fishing program.
This edition of OutdoorIllinois Journal also contains a story about the work of a collaborative team of volunteers and staff to restore Illinois’ only open-water bog, Volo Bog. And new Illinois resident, Lauren Dean, shares her story of why she hunts not only for the reward of harvesting her own meat, but also as a way of spending time in the woods with her husband and dog and to experience cool things in nature.
You’ll also find a story on a relatively new aquatic invasive species, the black carp. This bottom-dwelling fish is a voracious predator of mollusks and is posing a severe risk to native mollusk populations. Check out the story to learn how state and federal agencies are working to address the threat of black carp in Illinois and other parts of the Mississippi River Basin.
What does the 2024-2025 hunting season hold for upland game and waterfowl hunting? Don't miss the stories prepared by Don Kahl and Sam Klimas for predictions based on the latest population surveys. The stories "A Perspective on the Status of Upland Game Hunting in Illinois and the 2024-25 Upland Game Forecast" and "Illinois Waterfowl Hunting 2024-2025 Fall Forecast" will have you itching to get into the field.
The eastern monarch butterfly population has reached historic low numbers since the mid-1990s. Climate change, land use practices and conversion of grasslands are primary drivers that have reduced available habitat across the landscape. Read about how Illinoisans are working alongside people across North America to help reverse these trends for this iconic butterfly.
There's so much more in the November issue. Be sure to check out the stories about muskrats, skunks, bobcats, ospreys and eastern cottontails. Enjoy hearing from a duck hunter who recounts what he has learned during his five decades of waterfowl hunting. Learn how Pete Fandel is building the soil on his property and helping wildlife in the process and how the working Lands for Wildlife model is helping the northern bobwhite. Catch up on what researchers have learned about which species of bats use roost structures, which habitats are preferred by urban bats, and learn about a study on youth waterfowl hunting participation. There's also an article on how to minimize your risk of Ehrlichiosis, a bacterial illness transmitted to humans by ticks. That is just the beginning of the story lines you can discover in this edition of Outdoor
Illinois Journal.
These and much more await at: https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/
Outdoor
Illinois Journal
is a collaborative effort led by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Divisions of Wildlife Resources,
Natural Heritage and
Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration and the
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. Funding for Outdoor
Illinois Journal
was made available through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-147-T, the
Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund and the Fish Management Fund.
