We’re pleased to announce that the February 2025 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 six of the new articles you will find in this issue.
This issue highlights the positive impact of volunteers and community engagement in natural resources. Since 1985, the Illinois Urban and Community Fishing Program Fishing in Illinois program has employed a corps of seasonal fishing instructors to teach Illinois residents of all ages and abilities the basics of fishing and providing safe and fun fishing experiences, especially for beginners. Additionally, students from Pontiac Township High School have been the champion of student-led environmental conservation projects and seek to encourage other teens and young adults in Illinois to step outside and be inspired by nature!
You'll also find articles covering ongoing research and ecology of Illinois' diverse animal kingdom! In the summer of 2024, a team of researchers donned waders and wetsuit gear to search under slab habitats in the Sangamon River where they located the first salamander mussels encountered in more than a century! In another article, research ecologists analyze how deer have managed to abundantly thrive in Illinois, even when that wasn't always the case, by evaluating a deer's relationship with habitat, predators and reproduction. Also, avid birders and ornithologists anxiously await the return of two piping plover mating pairs, who are set to reach the Lake Michigan shoreline in the spring of 2025.
Be sure to also check out the story on the process for rescuing native plant seeds and a summary of the research by the Prairie Rivers Network that has been documenting the effects of off-target herbicide exposure on Illinois’ plants and trees.
2025 is a year of celebrating nature in Illinois, with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources commemorating 100 years as a state agency dedicated to conservation. OutdoorIllinois Journal will be featuring articles throughout the upcoming year to highlight the ongoing work of the agency and all of the, perhaps overlooked, achievements of it's 100 year corporality.
This is just the beginning of the storylines you can discover in this edition of Outdoor
Illinois Journal. 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.
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