2019-2020 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest

The 2019-2020 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest will hit the streets this month and when you pick up your copy or download a copy you’ll note a similar format to the previous edition, with a few exceptions.

“In reformatting the Digest last year we worked to make it more user-friendly so that the hundreds of thousands of resident and non-resident hunters and trappers could easily find and understand all the information they need to hunt or trap in Illinois,” explained Jared Duquette,Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Program Manager with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Division of Wildlife Resources. “In that same vein, the 2019-2020 edition contains a number of infographics, or visual images that quickly relate valuable, and in some cases, complex information.”

Another addition to the 2019-2020 Digest are the inclusion of recipes.

“Participants in the Illinois Learn to Hunt program have remarked how they are interested in learning to hunt to attain their own meat, and how much they appreciate having quick access to crowd-pleasing recipes so they can turn their harvest into a meal that family and friends will enjoy,” Duquette explained. “We’re featuring a squirrel recipe this year as small game hunting is a good way to maximize the hunting season, and often is how many people are introduced to hunting.”

A photo of a gray squirrel on a winter day in Cook County, taken by Chris Brenner of Glenview, graces this year’s cover.

As in past years, any new regulations are highlighted.

“We received a lot of feedback last year that readers appreciated the new organization, which focused on an arrangement based on species,” Duquette continued. “We value the suggestions we receive from the public as our intent is to provide outdoorsmen and women with what they need and find useful, not what we think they want.”

“As a final note, this year’s Digest cover serves as a reminder to many outdoorsmen and women of how they got their start in hunting,” Duquette concluded. “Squirrel hunting is a great activity for the beginner, or to hone skills that may have become a bit rusty. Perhaps this the year many Illinois hunters can reach out to invite a novice on a hunt, or encourage a friend or family member to join them on an outing to rediscover their connection to nature.”

Interested in Illinois Game and Fish Code history? Check out the Looking Back 100 Years: The 1919 Illinois Game and Fish Code article.

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Kathy Andrews Wright is retired from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where she was editor of Outdoor Illinois magazine. She is currently the editor of Outdoor Illinois Wildlife Journal and Illinois Audubon magazine.