Illinois Mixed Bag: Contact with raccoons blamed for illness – Outdoor News

Springfield — DNR and the Illinois Department of Public Health are working with public health authorities in Rock Island and Iowa to investigate an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, a gastrointestinal disease, in persons helping at a Rock Island County wildlife rehabilitation facility.

Public health officials said at least 12 individuals have been identified with probable or confirmed disease following contact with raccoons at Pat’s Bandits in Hillsdale. The people are residents of Iowa and from four counties in Illinois.

Public health officials said those who were sickened had contact with raccoons at the facility while volunteering between June 22 and July 3. Anyone who experienced diarrhea in the two weeks since assisting at this wildlife facility should seek medical attention and possible testing for cryptosporidiosis.

Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin two to 10 days (average seven days) after infection and last one to two weeks. Most people with healthy immune systems will recover from cryptosporidiosis without treatment. Anti-diarrheal medicine might help slow down diarrhea, but a healthcare provider should be consulted before such medicine is taken.

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DNR: Dam ‘Failure’ in Nashville Wasn’t That

Nashville, Ill. — Some residents of Nashville in southern Illinois were forced to flee their homes and navigate flooded roads after alerts about an “imminent failure” of the nearby Nashville City Reservoir dam on July 16.

“Failure” was perhaps too harsh of a word to describe what the dam did, according to Loren Wobig, director of DNR’s Office of Water Resources. The 90-year-old dam is considered “high hazard,” indicating the severe potential impact a failure could have on the community.

Two events caused the evacuation alerts in the nearby city, but none of them were dam “failures.” The primary dam did not fail, but was overtopped with water due to high rainfall. The secondary dam didn’t fail either. Rather, it did what it was designed to do during high rainfall events.

“What we believe is the situation is that the reservoir dam is designed with what we call fused plug emergency spillway,” Wobig said. “When the water reaches a certain height, by design, it activates that fuse plug.”

When the fuse plug is activated, it guides a path for the water to fall and return to a waterway, according to Wobig. Evacuations were ordered as part of city officials’ emergency plan during intense rainfall.

Waterfowl Blind Drawings Set for July 27-28

Springfield — DNR will host traditional waterfowl blind drawings at various sites on July 27-28. Waterfowl hunters must register in person for blind site drawings and must be present at the drawing held at each location designated below immediately after the registration period to claim their blind sites. Mail-in or preregistrations are not accepted. Blind allocations for these sites are good for one year.

To participate in a drawing, all applicants must present a 2023 or 2024 regular Illinois hunting license; a 2023 or 2024 Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp at the time they register, unless exempted by law; and valid photo identification. Applicants must be at least 16 years old by the date of the drawing. No apprentice licenses and no youth licenses will be accepted unless the youth license holder also presents hunter safety certification.

The schedule for 2024 blind drawings can be found on the DNR website.

Two Illinois Anglers Die in Boat Sinking

Chicago — Two individuals from Illinois are dead, and one Wisconsinite was sent to the hospital after a fishing boat sunk in Lake Michigan on July 15.

According to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, it received information from the U.S. Coast Guard shortly before 6:30 p.m. about a boat in distress and sinking in Lake Michigan. Several different agencies responded to the suspected area of the boat’s last coordinates, and rescue boats located three individuals in the water. Authorities say that one person was semi-conscious and breathing, and the other two individuals were unconscious and not breathing. All three were transported to the Aurora Medical Center Hospital in Grafton.

The two victims were identified as a 50-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, both from Illinois. The surviving member of the crew was a 26-year-old man from Beloit.

Missouri Surveying Deer Hunters on Changes

Springfield — Illinois hunters’ anticipation that DNR will make changes to its deer program continues to stew. But at least one neighboring state is taking action. The Missouri Department of Conservation announced it is revising its deer management plan and is seeking public feedback on the plan’s goals and objectives.

Each year, nearly half a million people hunt deer in Missouri..

MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle said that much has changed for deer managers since the previous version of the state’s plan was completed a decade ago, including the distribution of chronic wasting disease, the number of deer hunters, and changing hunter preferences. Isabelle also said that the continued spread of CWD and declines in deer hunter numbers are two very significant challenges to the future of deer management.

“In addition to these challenges, liberal seasons and increases in antlerless-permit numbers have not resulted in sufficient harvest to slow the growing deer population in some areas,” Isabelle said. “These and other challenges will be addressed in the updated management plan as we continue to be adaptive in our deer management approach.”

Source: https://www.outdoornews.com/2024/07/22/illinois-mixed-bag-contact-with-raccoons-blamed-for-illness/