Illinois Mixed Bag: Carlyle Lake to host soil habitat field day

Carlyle, Ill. — The Illinois DNR is inviting hunters and the public to a moist soil habitat field day at Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area Sept. 20.

Wildlife biologists and staff will lead tours at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1 p.m., showing how moist soil management supports ducks and improves habitat. The approach mimics natural wet and dry cycles to boost seed-producing wetland plants. Each session is limited to 35 people and requires advance online registration.

Visitors should meet at Hunter Parking Lot 1, south of the site headquarters in Vandalia.

Registration can be done online at www.eventbrite.com.

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CWD Deer Meetings Kick off in Affected Region

Springfield — DNR’s scheduled a series of public meetings across northern and west-central Illinois to discuss chronic wasting disease, its impact on deer populations, and ongoing management efforts.

During each meeting, DNR staff will provide information and answer questions about the fatal neurological disease, which threatens the long-term health of white-tailed deer in Illinois.

Unless otherwise noted, meetings will begin at 6 p.m. with a 45- to 60-minute presentation and discussion to follow.

The meetings kicked off Sept. 18 at Lacon Area Community Center in Lacon, which is in Marshall County. Below are the other meetings on tap through September and into October: Sept. 19 at Putnam County Public Library in Hennepin; Sept. 22 at the Peoria Public Library, in Peoria; Sept. 23 at the Princeton Chamber of Commerce, Prouty-Zearing Community Building in Princeton; Sept. 24 at the Winnebago County Forest Preserve in Rockford; Sept. 25 at the Ingersoll Learning Center in Thomson; Sept. 26 at the Stockton Public Library in Stockton; Sept. 29 (5:30-7 p.m.) at the Winifred Knox Memorial Library in Franklin Grove; Sept. 30 at the Oregon VFW Post in Oregon, and Oct. 2 at John Wood Community College in Quincy.

Clinton Lake Hosting Youth Deer Hunters

DeWitt, Ill. — Illinois youth are invited to hunt for the first time at Clinton Lake State Recreation Area in DeWitt during the Illinois youth firearm deer season Oct. 11-13. Clinton Lake SRA requires youth to submit their name for a lottery drawing. Interested hunters must send their contact information to dnr.clintonlake@illinois.gov.

Only 13 hunters are allowed at Clinton SRA and hunting is limited to the area between County Hwy. 14 and State Route 48. Youth deer firearm permits are available now at Illinois licensed vendors for $10. Limit one either-sex deer hunt permit per person.

All youth hunters must have a current, valid youth deer permit. In addition, youth hunters must have an apprentice or youth hunting license, or they must have completed a state-approved hunter education course and have a hunting license unless exempt.

Youth deer hunters, while using an apprentice hunter license or youth hunting license, must be accompanied by a non-hunting parent, guardian or grandparent 21 years of age or older with an Illinois hunting license.

Visit the Illinois youth firearm deer hunting website for additional information regarding bag limits, ammunition requirements, and harvest reporting. Contact DNR at 217-782-7305 or email dnr.permits1@illinois.gov for more details.

Dive Team Finds Over 90 Cars in Chicago River

Chicago — A diving team that travels the country looking for submerged cars involved in cold cases traversed the Chicago River in early September. They found more than 90 cars in the depths of the Chicago River over a few days.

“Once we kind of reached that 50, 60 number point, then it was kind of like, ‘OK, this was even a little more than we had expected to find,’” Lindsay Bussick, the team’s manager, said. To find the cars, the team has sonars set up in the command center so they’re able to find the vehicles before they dive in. If they located a car, they could retrieve it themselves. But one afternoon, they called Chicago police to take out a Nissan sedan Bussick said was damaging boats.

The point of the effort was to search for missing people.

“Thankfully, we have had the opportunity to bring 20 people home over the last four years,” Bussick said. Two of those recoveries were in the Chicago area. Bussick’s team found a car in the Fox River in Elgin this spring. Inside were skeletal remains of Karen Schepers, who went missing in 1983.

Trapping Permit Drawing for 9 Sites Scheduled

Havana, Ill. — DNR will conduct a public drawing for the allocation of trapping permits for nine different state locations on Oct. 11 at Siloam Springs State Park in Adams County.

Registration will begin at 10 a.m., and the drawing will follow at 11 a.m. People whose names are drawn must be in attendance.

Site permits for trapping will be good for a two-year period.

All trappers entering the drawing must be at least 16 years old and have a current 2025-2026 trapping license and habitat stamp. Site-specific trapping regulations for each site will be provided at the drawing. Available sites are:

Siloam Springs State Park

• Buckhorn Unit

• Fall Creek Unit

Ray Norbut Fish and Wildlife Area-Pike County

• East Hannibal Unit

• Dutch Creek Unit

Weinberg-King State Fish and Wildlife Area

• Scripps Unit at Weinberg-King

• Spunky Unit at Weinberg-King

For more information about the Oct. 11 drawing, call 217-894-6205 or 217-285-2221.