Illinois Mixed Bag: Hunter safety courses set in west-central Illinois

Springfield — DNR has two hunter safety education courses scheduled for August and September in West-Central Illinois. Both courses are being offered in Adams County.

The first will be held Aug. 8-9 at the Paloma Community Building in Paloma. The course runs 6-10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9. The course takes place Sept. 19-20 at Twin Oaks Club in Quincy. The course runs 6-10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Students must attend the entire course to be eligible for certification.

Instructor-led hunter safety courses are taught in-person with certified volunteer hunter safety instructors. Students will learn the hunter safety education curriculum through lectures, demonstrations, group discussions and practical exercises. Most courses include a visit from an Illinois Conservation Police Officer to discuss Illinois hunting regulations. Students passing the 50-question multiple choice test (80% passing score) and displaying the necessary maturity to hunt independently will receive an Illinois hunter safety education certificate.

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1980, is required to complete hunter safety education certification or provide evidence of holding a hunting license issued by Illinois or another state in a prior year before purchasing a hunting license.

To register, call an DNR representative at 217-936-2712.

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‘Restoring Grand Calumet’ Tour Offered July 31

Champaign, Ill. — The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant are putting on an educator’s workshop that includes an immersive tour of two major restoration sites within the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern and an introduction to the Virtual Reality Experience and Curriculum that features regional restoration sites in East Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. These sites showcase the transformation of heavily polluted industrial landscapes into thriving ecosystems through sediment remediation and habitat restoration.

The event is called “Restoring the Grand Calumet: Educator Tour of Revitalized River Ecosystems and Virtual Reality Curriculum Workshop” and it will take place on July 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Purdue NW Hammond Campus (2200 169th Street in Hammond, Indiana). The tour is open to all 6-12 grade formal and non-formal educators and is a free event.

Participants will explore the science and impact of ecological restoration, hear from restoration experts and engage with place-based virtual reality curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Educators can earn 6 ISBE clock hours (Illinois) or 6 Professional Growth Points (Indiana).

More information can be found on the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant web page.

Work Begins on TREC Trail Expansion, Board Says

Effingham, Ill. — Work has begun on a major expansion of the Trail Recreation Effingham County (TREC) trail as board members close in on reaching the fundraising goal for the project. The 2,600-foot trail expansion will complete the approximately 2-mile loop around the new 53-acre Nature Park along the Little Wabash River.

TREC was awarded a matching grant, overseen by DNR, to construct 1,400 feet of the expansion; however, more money was needed to complete the remaining portion. Rather than wait two or three years to pursue another government grant – and to save significant expense – the TREC Board opted to raise the money through private funding needed to complete the project now. They have nearly reached their $75,000 goal.

“We’re close enough that we’re going ahead with it,” said TREC Board President Mo Dust. “Because there’s so much upside in doing it, we save two or three years of time. It’s a lot cheaper to do now if they do it all at the same time, rather than have to make the trip back into the park. The upside is too big to pass this up.”

Plans are to finish the project this summer. Once it is finished, Dust said people will be able to walk to the Nature Park, continue walking, and make a full loop back to the main trail.

Goose Prairie to Build New Visitor Center

Morris, Ill. — DNR announced that the Gunnar A. Peterson Visitor Center at Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area in Grundy County will be demolished to build a new facility.

Goose Lake Prairie, whose original 240 acres were purchased by the state in 1969, now totals 2,537 acres and is the largest remnant of prairie left in Illinois. Buffalo, wolf, and prairie chicken once inhabited the area that is now Goose Lake Prairie. Mound-building groups of Native Americans lived northwest of the area in what is now Morris. Tribes of the Illini confederation intermittently inhabited the area, hunting and planting corn, squash, and beans. They and other Native Americans, including the Potawatomi led by Chief Shabbona, existed with the land, making few permanent changes.

According to a news release, the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office has determined under the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Protection Act that the new visitor center will “result in adverse effects to the existing visitor center, requiring mitigation prior to the demolition of the building.”

Illinois Turkey Brood Survey Seeks Volunteer Help

Springfield — DNR is casking citizens to help track wild turkey populations across the state this summer. From now through August, volunteers can report sightings of adult male and female turkeys, along with their young. Biologists use this data to study reproductive success, survival rates, and population trends. Over the past five years, observations have revealed a steady rise in both poult survival and nesting success.

The public can submit sightings online from any device or request a postcard version if needed. To take part, visit dnr.illinois.gov or email DNR.Turkey@illinois.gov.