Illinois Mixed Bag: Pere Marquette State Park schedules outdoor events

Grafton, Ill. — Pere Marquette State Park has scheduled a variety of upcoming outdoors programs and activities for people to explore and learn.

• At 1 p.m. Aug. 23, Lev will be teaching a “Wild Edibles: Forage, Learn, and Taste at Pere Marquette” class. Participants will learn how to identify common edible plants, and Menachem “Lev” Smolianski plans to make ice cream out of the group’s favorite trees.

• “The Great Voyager Canoe” adventure will be held on Sept. 6. The 20-foot canoe holds up to 30 people, and folks of all ages and skill levels can enjoy a guided paddling experience on the Mississippi River. Children under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

• The annual Grand Tour, where he takes participants on a “long, arduous hike” over all nine miles of Pere Marquette’s hiking trails. On Sept. 13, hikers will once again have the opportunity to participate in the hike.

• On Oct. 25 and Nov. 29, the community can come out for the Fall Night Hikes. These guided 2.5-mile hikes will take you through the forest in the dark as Lev teaches you about fall ecology and park history.

For more information, call 618-786-3323 or email Menachem. smolianski@illinois.gov.

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INHS: State Plant Species Rankings Updated

Champaign, Ill. — Scientists from the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have updated the state conservation status ranks, or S-ranks, of threatened and endangered plants in Illinois. The update includes some plants not recorded in the state for decades and finds many that, while still threatened, are doing better than previously thought.

Their findings are detailed in the Natural Areas Journal.

The 331 plants on the list are as fascinating as they are rare, said Brian Charles, an INHS scientific specialist in botany who led the multi-year effort. They include carnivorous plants like sundews, pitcher plants and bladderworts; and 18 species of orchids.

The Illinois S-ranks had not been updated since 1987. A total of 257 species were listed both in 1987 and 2023, but their rankings improved, with a decrease in the number of the most imperiled species from 228 to 152 and other declines in the severity of many species’ ranks. Only three species were found to be more imperiled than in 1987.

Fishing Report: Record Number Of Anglers

Alexandria, Va. — The post-pandemic surge of participation in fishing continues to get record numbers of participants on the water, but data from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s (RBFF) 2025 Special Report on Fishing finds churn continues to pose a significant challenge for the industry.

In 2024, 57.9 million Americans ages 6 and up took to the nation’s waterways to enjoy recreational fishing, an all-time high 19% of the U.S. population. Data also continues to underscore the critical importance of introducing fishing at a young age.

Eighty-five percent of current fishing participants fished before the age of 12, but participation rates fell sharply after a child turned 18, and specifically female youth quit fishing at an 11% higher rate than male youth.

According to the new report, spending time with family and friends was a key driver for new anglers in 2024. Many new anglers also reported that being in the great outdoors and relaxation inspired their first fishing trip.

In 2024, fishing lost 16.6 million anglers (a -23% churn) versus -18% five years ago and -12% 10 years ago. In addition, participation among more frequent anglers has gradually declined since participation tracking began in 2007. Just 32% fished once a month or more in 2024, down from 37% a decade ago. RBFF conducted research in 2023 on the psychology of churn to help its state and industry stakeholders tackle these challenges. The full report is available at TakeMeFishing.Org/SpecialReport.

Wisconsin Spring Turkey Kill Down

Madison, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recently announced preliminary totals for the 2025 spring turkey season. Wisconsin turkey hunters registered 50,287 birds this season, down from about 50,400 taken about a year ago, but a 14% increase from the five-year average. A total of 246,068 authorizations were available this spring, and hunters applied for or purchased 228,844 of them. The deadline to apply for next spring’s (2026) turkey season is Dec. 10. Hunters may apply for harvest authorizations online at dnrwisconsin.gov.

Delta Waterfowl Hires Two New Scientists

Bismarck, N.D. — Delta Waterfowl has announced the addition of two waterfowl scientists. Dr. Todd Arnold has been named senior scientist, and Dr. Jay VonBank is Delta’s scientific director.

Arnold comes to Delta from the University of Minnesota, where he served as a distinguished teaching professor since 2002 in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. He has also worked as a senior scientist for Ducks Unlimited Canada, scientific director for Delta Waterfowl, and as an assistant professor of wildlife management at Humboldt State University in California.

VonBank has served as a research ecologist since November 2020 for the U.S. Geological Survey at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, N.D. He has specialized in applied wildlife research that supports waterfowl ecology and management, habitat management, and sustainable hunting programs.

The conservation group also announced the hiring of Mike Sidders as vice president of marketing and communications. His experience includes working with both Fleet Farm and Gander Mountain.

For more information, visit www.deltawaterfowl.org