Illinois’ Outdoor Calendar
Staff Report
March 31, 2026
A look at upcoming outdoors-related events from across Illinois published in the April 3, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.
Illinois
Missouri man charged for poaching elk in wildlife refuge
Staff Report
March 31, 2026
It started the day before Thanksgiving 2025 with a report to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) of a mature bull elk found shot dead and left to rot inside the wildlife refuge at the
Illinois Cuffs & Collars: Investigation at Newton Lake SFWA wraps up
Staff Report
March 31, 2026
Illinois cuffs and collars are field reports from Conservation Police Officers. These reports are from the April 3, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.
USFWS faces lawsuit over Illinois chorus frog protection
Staff Report
March 31, 2026
The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision to not protect the Illinois chorus frog under the Endangered Species Act.
Handful of new Illinois fishing regulations go into effect April 1
Ralph Loos
March 31, 2026
Every paddlefish landed while fishing on the Illinois River “must be taken into immediate possession and included in the daily harvest limit.”
This new regulation applies mostly to “snaggers,” and will not impact many
In heat wave, kids showed up for Youth Pheasant Hunt in Illinois
Gretchen Steele
March 31, 2026
You expect a little unpredictability with spring in Illinois. What you don’t expect – what nobody quite plans for – is a youth pheasant hunt that feels like it ought to come with sunscreen and
Illinois Mixed Bag: Some Starved Rock trails closed for project
Staff and News Reports
March 31, 2026
Several trails at the most visited state park in Illinois will be closed until June for upgrades and repairs, according to DNR.
As previously reported, Starved Rock State Park is undergoing an $18 million
Illinois Letters to the Editor: Language expanding deer rifles ignores some handgun basics
Illinois Letters To The Editor
March 31, 2026
Reader-submitted letters to the editor published in the April 3, 2026 edition of Illinois Outdoor News.
Ralph Loos: A tip of the cap to Dave Gannaway, Steve Sarley? A ‘yup’ will do him fine
Ralph Loos
March 31, 2026
Every other Friday morning for the past 18 years I’ve bumbled out of bed, clicked my email’s New Message tab and completed a vital task by typing one short word.
“Yup.” It’s one of
