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Does Illinois DNR make it too hard to be a volunteer?

Groups and people willing to volunteer to help clean and protect the state’s woods, rivers, and other natural areas in Illinois are often turned off by the required paperwork and application process the state requires. There’s a swelling of support for DNR to make things easier on free help. (Photo courtesy of Bill Key)

Here we go with the grumbling again from well-meaning DNR public land users who want to lend a hand. These folks genuinely care about our public lands and truly want to help out sites with a host of different activities.
Their complaint, however, is that DNR makes it too hard for them to volunteer. There are too many requirements that seem nonsensical. There is too much bureaucracy and red tape. In a sense, the complainers aren’t totally wrong, but neither are they totally right.

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