Ralph Loos: Agreement to transfer ownership of Shabbona Recreation Area deals a bad hand to Illinois anglers and hunters

People in Illinois who don’t fish or hunt aren’t likely to be as disturbed as the rest of us about the state handing over Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area.

That’s because they haven’t invested the time and money we have.

Time is emotional and personal, be is somewhat superficial. Thousands of Illinois anglers spend, and have spent, hours on Shabbona Lake. Same goes for hunters who walk, and have walked, the acreage open to deer, duck, and dove hunting. Spent time, spent sweat, spent laughs and spent curse words are rewarded in the outdoors.

Memories, we call them.

SPEAKING OF SPENT AND SPENDING, let me take a sharp turn to what’s really making fishermen and hunters around the state grow uncomfortable – even if they’ve never visited Shabbona. In late March, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation giving ownership of the 1,550-acre site in DeKalb County to the Kansas-based Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Senate Bill 867 requires DNR and the Potawatomi tribe to enter into a land management agreement that will keep the land open for public recreation. Many suspect the agreement will not be honored. Some suspect the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will eventually bring a casino to Shabbona, inviting traffic and noise and disruption. Is it a possibility? I wouldn’t bet against it.

This isn’t to suggest the Potawatomi don’t deserve to be made whole. It would be hypocritical to complain about losing a piece of land that has created memories without recognizing that the tribe also has a connection to the same land – land they once occupied.

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HOWEVER, THERE IS THE WHOLE thing about the investment hunters and anglers have made in Shabbona.

As a DNR property, it has received its fair share of funding – both state and federal – for fish and wildlife habitat, as well as state park improvements. Over time, that’s millions of dollars provided by anglers and hunters via taxes on gear and equipment we purchase.

As we expected they would, the good folks over at the Illinois Federation of Outdoor Resources have been hounding DNR on this underreported aspect of the Shabbona deal. Glen Sanders, IFOR’s vice president, filed a Freedom of Information Act requesting, “any and all records in the possession of DNR concerning use or expenditure of Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, Competitive State Wildlife Grant, or any other federal funds used on or allocated to Shabbona State Park. In addition, we are requesting any and all records of expenditures of state funds from the Boat Registration and Safety Act fund, Illinois Fish and Game Fund, Illinois Wildlife Fund, Illinois Habitat Fund or any similar state fund funded primarily from sales of user licenses or permits such as hunting or fishing.”

In a Feb. 28 response letter to Sanders, DNR responded, “Your request is denied as unduly burdensome at this time.” We hope Sanders doesn’t back down.

The move by elected officials to ignore our investment of time and money could set a dangerous precedent. More alarming would be the precedent set if state parks left and right start turning into casinos. Is that a real possibility in Illinois?

Who would bet against it?

ralph@outdoornews.com