The Michigan DNR avoided many of the deep reductions proposed earlier this year as lawmakers approved a Fiscal Year 2026-27 state budget that largely preserves the agency’s core conservation, recreation, and law enforcement programs while modestly increasing its overall spending authority.
The Legislature sent the budget package to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on July 3.
Final budget spares Michigan DNR staff, programs Read More »
More thav 5,400 largemouth bass fingerlings have been stocked so far in 2026 at Washington County Lake, part of an ongoing effort by DNR to return the southern Illinois water to its once-prominent status as a bass angler’s treat.
Last year, DNR stocked nearly 6,000 largemouths – more than 1,000 of them in the larger 4- to 7-inch range.
Bass, channel cat stockings elevate Illinois’ Washington County Lake Read More »
People labeled by DNR as “citizen volunteers” reported spotting 794 adult wild turkey hens, 877 young turkeys, and 452 adult male turkeys in Illinois’ woods and fields last month. Those same folks got off to a fast start this month, reporting 19 young birds and 18 hens on July 1.
Ralph Loos: Tis’ the time of year in Illinois to see a turkey, report a turkey Read More »
The percentage of deer taken with crossbows during the Illinois archery season has decidedly leveled off, while rifles continue to stake a bigger claim of the state’s firearms harvest.
These facts we learn from DNR’s recently-released report on the 2025-26 season authored by DNR Deer Project manager Peter Schlichting. The total harvest was 174,006, up from the 171,322 harvest in 2024-25.
Illinois deer harvest: crossbows level off, rifles climbing Read More »
Illinois DNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie stepped aside July 1 in a move that caught many hunters and anglers in the state by surprise.
The Hardin County native, who began her tenure by replacing Colleen Callahan in January 2023, was seen in some circles as just the latest in a long line of political appointees to the top DNR job. But Finnie carried with her a strong offset: while she came from a political family – she is the daughter of former U.S. Rep. David Phelps and the cousin of former State Rep. Brandon Phelps – that same family was made up of active outdoorsmen and women, Finnie herself included.
Illinois DNR director Natalie Phelps Finnie steps aside, interim named Read More »
Morrow Lake, a 1,000-acre angler hotspot on the Kalamazoo River between Kalamazoo and Galesburg, has endured more than its share of challenges over the past two decades.
Morrow Lake has evolved into a solid fishing destination in southwest Michigan Read More »
Michigan’s turkey hunters followed some twists and turns on their way through the 2026 spring season – somewhat due to weather but mostly due to a significant overhaul of regulations and a whole set of new zone configurations.
The changes took some getting used to, especially the new mandatory harvest reporting requirement.
Thousands of Michigan hunters have spent recent weeks learning if they will have the opportunity to pursue two of the state’s most sought-after big game species this fall.
Or if they will have to wait – again. The Michigan DNR began releasing results of its annual bear and elk license drawings on June 21. More than 100,000 hunters typically apply each year for a chance to hunt bear or elk, despite the limited number of licenses available.
Bear, elk hunting licenses chosen in Michigan Read More »
A handful of years after a major channel cat stocking, Lake Mattoon is showing signs that it could become a target destination for Illinois catfishermen.
DNR’s most recent survey of the 1,050-acre central Illinois lake resulted in a report that calls channel catfish, “Currently abundant in the lake through a combination of natural recruitment – and a stocking event in 2020.”
Channel cat boxes an effort to boost Lake Mattoon in central Illinois Read More »
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