Illinois Mixed Bag: Nominations sought for Outdoor News Person of the Year Award – Outdoor News
Sparta, Ill. — Illinois Outdoor News once again is seeking nominations for its annual Person of the Year Award. We’re looking for people who have worked on behalf of hunting, fishing, and conservation in the state of Illinois.
Although most recipients are selected for their conservation achievements over a lifetime, we’ll consider citizens who have made remarkable contributions in the past year, too.
For the initial nomination, we don’t need extensive information – just a name and some basic background about why a state sportsman or woman deserves recognition.
Email [email protected] by March 1, 2025.
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Fish Habitate Alliance Banquet Set for Feb. 22
Shelbyville, Ill. — The Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Alliance will hold a fundraising banquet at the Sullivan VFW on Feb. 22 to raise funds for continuing fish habitat improvements in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Natural History Survey and DNR.
The Banquet will feature raffles, silent auction, and live auction in addition to dinner. Doors open at 4 p.m. and dinner will be served at 5:30. Tickets are available online at 2025LSFHABanquet. eventbrite.com. There is a maximum of 250 seats available for the event. Any remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the door the night of the event.
For more information about the event, call the Lake Shelbyville Project Office, (217) 774-3951 Ext. 7001.
A Few Eagle Watching Events Still on Tap
Springfield — DNR and partner organizations have been hosting public eagle-watching events across the state this winter – and a few are still ahead.
“Illinois residents have a unique advantage when it comes to opportunities to catch a glimpse of eagles soaring over our scenic waterways and river bluffs,” said DNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie. “I invite everyone to bundle up, grab their binoculars, and head outdoors to one of the many eagle-watching events happening throughout the state this winter.” Visitors can participate in eagle-watches at the following locations:
• Feb. 7, 11, 21, 24, 26, 28 and March 7 – Pere Marquette State Park Bald Eagle Days, Grafton.
• March 1: Kaskaskia Eagle Fest, Jerry F. Costello Lock and Dam, Modoc.
For more information about the events, visit the Illinois Save Our Eagles website.
Sickened Geese at Summerset Tested Positive
Lake Summerset, Ill. — Two geese taken from Lake Summerset in December tested positive for a form of bird flu, according to officials.
Lake Summerset’s general manager, Mike Schmieder, said the two birds were collected by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources from a group of nearly two dozen dead geese.
“They were testing, what I would assume to be hundreds of birds throughout the area, they finally got to ours and they informed us last week that the two birds tested here did test positive for Avian bird flu,” Schmieder said.
Other reports of bird flu have come from all throughout the Midwest, including other cities in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan. Schmieder told WIFR-Radio that he anticipated this outcome and prepared the gated community to hopefully prevent further spread of the illness.
Commentary: Worth of Fishing to Great Lakes Described as ‘Overvalued’ by $2 Billion
Chicago — Recreational fishing in Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes is worth billions of dollars, but fewer billions than the amount cited for many years.
According to a recent study, recreational fishing in the Great Lakes is worth $5.1 billion. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission hired Southwick Associates to calculate the economic output. The area studied includes sportfishing in the eight Great Lakes states and Ontario. The previous number, compiled by the same firm nearly two decades ago for the American Sportfishing Association, was $7 billion. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission says the number is different primarily because of more robust methodology in the most recent study.
Lester Graham, in Great Lakes Now, was critical of the overvaluing of the lakes. On Jan. 22, he wrote in a Commentary, “Ever since the $7 billion economic benefit estimate was released, politicians, government agencies, and news outlets have been using that amount without question, or very seldom questioning it even though the number was being used many years after the study was first released – although a reporter with the Great Lakes Echo questioned how the $7 billion figure was being used back in 2010.”
Public Comment Period for Bumble Bee Ends
Springfield — A public comment period ended Jan. 27 on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed critical habitat rule to protect the rusty patched bumble bee under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The USFWS proposal grows out of a species status assessment conducted by “15 scientists with expertise in bumble bee biology, habitat management, and stressors (factors negatively affecting the species).”
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign insect ecologist Jason Robinson, concluded in a research paper that, “As the first social insect listed under the ESA, the listing of RPBB has required new methods for biological assessment. The bee species has a complex life cycle requiring a mosaic of different habitat types, with each life cycle stage facing unique challenges and threats.”
