100 Years of Conservation: 1925-2025: How Multiple Agencies Became the Illinois Department of Natural Resources

There is a rich history of conservation efforts in Illinois. This year the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) celebrates 100 years of conservation. Let’s take a look back now at how a collection of state agencies became the IDNR as we know it today.

We start our story in 1925, when the state created the Illinois Department of Conservation from a collection of agencies and programs including the Fish and Game Division, Forestry, Department of Public Works, and the Lakes Program.

Big changes in conservation happened again in July 1995, when Governor Jim Edgar merged the Department of Conservation with the Department of Mines and Minerals, Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Division of Water Resources, Illinois State Museum, the Scientific Surveys and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. That same year, Conservation 2000 funded a “six-year $100 million initiative for comprehensive long-range natural resources planning and management” in Illinois.

In 2008, another major reorganization happened when the University of Illinois Scientific Surveys Act transferred the Surveys from the IDNR to the University of Illinois under the management of the Prairie Research Institute.

But we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. We head back now to the 1920s.

From the Department of Conservation to the IDNR

Game Wardens become Conservation Police Officers

In 1928, the Division of Fish and Game was moved from the Department of Agriculture to the new Department of Conservation and became the Division of Law Enforcement. The “Game and Fish Wardens” were renamed “Constables” and later became known as “Inspectors.” Their original role in protecting fish and wildlife populations has expanded several times over the decades to include protection of forestry resources and the “enforcement of regulations designed to prevent the spread of wildlife diseases and invasive species,” among others.

A major change for the Division came in 1959 when the Boat Registration & Safety Act was passed. Because the Law Enforcement Division already used boats so that they could enforce fishing and waterfowl hunting laws, they became the primary boating enforcement agency in Illinois. Now the “Game Wardens,” as they were still commonly called, had the added responsibility of enforcing boating laws and handling motorboat registrations.

In the 1960s, the Division was given full police authority within the Illinois state park system. Given their expanded duties, the title “Inspector” was changed to Conservation Police Officer (CPO) in 1974.

Currently, while CPOs possess full law enforcement authority to uphold all Illinois Compiled Statutes, their primary mission is to educate and enforce laws related to natural resource conservation and ensure recreational safety throughout Illinois.

Illinois State Parks Expand

The Illinois State Park System initially focused on preservation of historic sites. The first state park in Illinois, Fort Massac State Park, was dedicated in May 1908.

Until 1927, only historical sites were acquired by the state. A 1931 amendment to the Forest Preserve Act would change that by authorizing three types of parks—historical, scenic and recreational. Eight recreational parks were acquired between 1934 and 1939, including mined land that became Kickapoo State Recreation Area near Danville. The jurisdiction of state parks and memorials was given to the Department of Conservation in 1951.

Today the IDNR manages more than 130 state parks, state recreation areas and state fish and wildlife areas to provide public outdoor recreational opportunities such as camping, hunting, fishing, hiking and wildlife watching as well as to preserve and manage wildlife habitat.

Another way the IDNR helps people connect to the past is through the Historic Preservation Division which manages 57 State Historic Sites.

Resource Conservation

In 1925 the protection and conservation of forests moved from the Illinois Natural History Survey to the Department of Conservation and the Division of Forestry was created in 1927. That was also the year the first Illinois Forester was hired. Illinois’ first state forest was purchased in Union County in 1929.

The Divisions of Game, Fisheries and Education were all three created in 1941. Just a few of the highlights from this time period included:

• In 1947, the Illinois Department of Conservation organized a “statewide lake development program to build lakes for sport fishing and other recreational purposes.”
• The Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act passed in 1963 to provide protection to unique and pristine habitats.
• The Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery was completed in 1984.

In 1995 the Department of Conservation became part of the new Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Today the IDNR’s Office of Resource Conservation includes the Divisions of Forestry, Wildlife, Fisheries and Natural Heritage. Collectively these Divisions are responsible for managing fishing, hunting, trapping, commercial forestry, commercial fisheries, wildlife habitat, endangered and threatened species, and natural heritage protection programs for the people of Illinois.

1995: A Big Year in Illinois Conservation

Prior to 1995 many of the functions now supported by the IDNR were managed by several different agencies and departments in addition to the Department of Conservation.

Department of Mines and Minerals

Mining is necessary but dangerous work. The Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals was established in 1917 to protect the health and safety of Illinois miners. In 1995, this department merged into the IDNR and today has four divisions: Land Reclamation; Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation (formerly the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council); Mine Safety and Training; and Blasting, Explosives and Aggregate Reclamation. The Abandoned Mine Lands program has “completed over 550 projects, addressed more than 775 mine sites and reclaimed nearly 9,400 acres of land in Illinois, at a cost of approximately 146 million dollars.” The IDNR also oversees oil and gas management in the state.

Office of Water Resources

The origins of the IDNR’s Office of Water Resources go all the way back to 1823 with the formation of the Illinois Michigan Canal Commission. The office underwent several reorganizations during the past 100 years. The Department of Public Works and Buildings’ Division of Waterways merged into the newly created Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in 1972 and became the Office of Water Resource Management and then became the Division of Water Resources in 1973, before becoming part of the IDNR in 1995 as the Office of Water Resources.

Today the Office of Water Resources is the lead state agency for water resources planning and consists of four Divisions: the Division of Capital Programs, the Division of Resource Management, the Division of Coastal Management and the Division of Program Development. Collectively they focus on the state water plan, navigation, floodplain management, water supply, drought response, and review of Illinois water use law. The Office of Water Resources “oversees the Lake Michigan water allocation program which supplies 330 billion gallons of water annually, serving 7 million people in more than 200 communities, sustaining homes, businesses and the regional economy of northeast Illinois, [and administers] the state water supply in the Carlyle, Shelbyville, Rend and Kinkaid reservoirs, supporting more than $10 billion in downstate economic activity.”

Illinois State Museum

Founded in May 1877, the Illinois State Museum (ISM) has always been a little ahead of its time. In the early 1900s, ISM was a pioneer in the use of natural history habitats to educate people about the geology, flora and fauna of the prairie state. And before Illinois even had the interstate system, the museum had a Musemobile—taking education to people back in 1948.

Today the ISM’s headquarters museum and ISM-Research & Collections Center are in Springfield, with branch sites at Dickson Mounds in Lewistown and the ISM-Lockport Gallery in Lockport. Together they manage the extensive collections, develop exhibits, conduct research, publish and host interpretive programs.

Illinois’ Scientific Surveys

When the five Scientific Surveys became part of the IDNR, several already had a long history and were well-known internationally. Describing the value of the research the Surveys historically conducted and how that information guided the development of fish and wildlife management policies in Illinois, then and now, literally takes volumes to sufficiently cover. A couple of the highlights while the Surveys were part of the IDNR included the Critical Trends Assessment and the first Illinois Wildlife Action Plan in 2005.

In 2008 the five surveys were transferred from the IDNR to the University of Illinois under the banner of the new Prairie Research Institute.

Looking Towards 2125

Habitat conservation, species protection, research-based natural resources management, education, community outreach and law enforcement have been cornerstones of conservation efforts in Illinois for more than a 100 years. What is to come for conservation in Illinois in the next 100 years?