Chief’s Letter

Mike McClelland, Chief, Division of Fisheries

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.

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. Some of those anglers likely enjoy the fall season fishing for salmon on select sections of the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan. 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 stories about two programs working to hook youngsters on fishing. One article focuses on a youth muskie fishing opportunity and another on bass tournaments.

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.

Many inquiring minds are wondering what to expect during the 2024-2025 waterfowl and upland game seasons. Don Kahl, the Agricultural and Grassland Wildlife Program Manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and Sam Klimas, one of IDNR’s Waterfowl Project Managers, are offering insights into what hunters can expect based on biological assessments of populations.

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. Check out the story in this edition of OutdoorIllinois Journal that reports how Illinoisans are working alongside people across North America to help reverse these trends.

In our final feature in the series of articles exploring the Natural Divisions of Illinois we explore the Upper Mississippi River and Lower Illinois River Bottomlands Natural Division, which covers nearly 600 miles of shoreline habitats along the two rivers. Also check out the bonus feature on one site within the natural division, the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary.

We’ve prepared even more for you in this edition of OutdoorIllinois Journal. 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, how the working Lands for Wildlife model is helping the northern bobwhite and about the work of a collaborative team of volunteers and staff to restore Illinois’ only open-water bog. Catch up on what researchers have learned about which species of bats use roost structures, which habitats are preferred by urban bats and a study on youth waterfowl hunting participation. Learn how to minimize your risk of Ehrlichiosis, a bacterial illness transmitted to humans by ticks. That is just the beginning of the storylines you can discover in this edition of OutdoorIllinois Journal.

OutdoorIllinois 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 OutdoorIllinois 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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