Illinois Mixed Bag: Trapping Permit Drawing Set for Shelbyville

Shelbyville, Ill. — DNR has scheduled a public drawing for handing out trapping permits at the Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area.

The drawing will take place at 9 a.m. Oct. 10 at 562 Illinois 121 in Bethany. All applicants must have a trapping license and windshield card and must attend the drawing if their name is drawn.

For more information, call 217-665-3112.

Maple Grove Boat Launch on Chain Reopens

Spring Grove, Ill. — The popular Maple Grove boat launch at Chain O’ Lakes State Park in McHenry County has reopened to the public following a $3 million improvement project that incorporates numerous accessibility upgrades and other amenities, including a new fishing pier and kayak launch.

Construction began in October 2025 to address outdated design and configuration that prevented the launch from being accessible to disabled users. The project was managed by the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB). Chain O’ Lakes State Park attracts more than 300,000 visitors annually. Activities available at the park include fishing, hunting, boating, camping, hiking, archery, bicycling, picnicking and winter sports.

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Forest Preserve Acquires Land Forested by Family

Joliet, Ill. — The Forest Preserve District of Will County purchased 126 acres in Custer Township that will be known as Horse Creek Preserve – Kang Woodland.

“It’s exciting to create a new preserve after almost 100 years and 24,000 acres under our belt,” Forest Preserve Executive Director Tracy Chapman said. “Horse Creek is the defining natural feature of the property. It serves as an important waterway and habitat corridor, making the decision to name the site Horse Creek Preserve a pretty easy one.”

The land was initially purchased and preserved by a Chicago couple who dedicated decades to protecting the property, beginning in the 1980s. Dr. Shin Theke Kang and his wife, Tae Sue Kang, reforested some of the agricultural portions of the property to complement the legacy trees, including one bur oak thought to be hundreds of years old, that had been growing along Horse Creek. The Kangs hired a company to plant 40,000 trees, and many survived even without irrigation. The parcel is home to more than 32,000 black walnut, oak, maple, ash, pine and cherry trees.

The Kangs now live in California. Their daughter, Meea Kang, responded to questions from the Forest Preserve about what motivated him to reforest the property.

“At 90 years old, his answer was much simpler and more personal than I expected,” she said. “He said, ‘Because land and trees go together.’ He told me that whenever he owned land, he planted trees. When I asked him why, he said, ‘I planted the trees because that was my heart.’ ”

Public Comment Period Extended for Proposed Repeal of Federal Roadless Rules

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the public comment period for the proposed rule and environmental study repealing the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

The proposed rule, which would remove protections against logging and associated road-building from nearly 45 million acres nationwide, was filed Aug. 18. The original comment period was scheduled to close Sept. 21 but has been extended by 15 days, through Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Public comments are being accepted at regulations.gov. The administration has not announced any public meetings. Learn more via the Take Action page at backcountryhunters.org.

Massive Fish Kill Reported on Mississippi River

Quincy, Ill. — Hundreds of dead invasive carp washed ashore along the Mississippi River in mid-September, with wildlife officials attributing the die-off to a combination of unusually warm water, low oxygen levels and disease.

Dead fish were reported along river embankments near Quincy and other Illinois communities.

Missouri Department of Conservation officials said the die-off has been particularly noticeable since late July on the Missouri side of the river and has occurred in multiple areas.

Reports increased in late July and early August, particularly from the Mississippi River near St. Charles and north toward Pike County. Dead carp also have been reported in the Missouri River near Columbia.

The specific disease or diseases responsible for the deaths have not been identified. However, officials maintained that only carp have been affected and there is little to no known risk to humans, pets or other fish.

Iowa DNR Considering DNA to Monitor Fish

Des Moines — The Iowa DNR is considering using something other than electrofishing and nets to catch fish, assess their health and then release them back in the water. Andrew Carlson, the DNR’s fisheries biologist for northwest Iowa, said there may be a way to collect water samples and get the same kind of data. “Each fish that’s out in the water is going to shed deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA into the water,” he said, “and you can actually look at the presence or absence of different species, potentially the relative abundance of different species as well using the shedding rates for various species.”

Research published in 2022 found that scientists were able to use environmental DNA in the Pacific Ocean to measure populations of fish off the West Coast, information that helped fishing fleets determine how many fish they might catch in an area. Carlson is just back in Iowa after a national conference where the process was discussed.