Illinois’ Outdoor Calendar
A look at upcoming outdoors-related events from across Illinois published in the May 15, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.
A look at upcoming outdoors-related events from across Illinois published in the May 15, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.

New reports from Illinois Conservation Police were not available from DNR as this issue of Illinois Outdoor News went to press. The following reports are from past CPO files.

A southern Illinois man with a history of outdoor accomplishments came just a few ounces shy of breaking the Illinois state crappie record.
Not that the numbers mattered – he was actually fishing in

Chicago’s piping plovers have some competition for attention. For the first time in more than 100 years, a bald eagle has been born inside the city’s limits, the Chicago Park District egg-statically announced Wednesday.

Springfield — The Illinois Muskie Tournament Trail kicked off its 2026 season on April 25 with the Spring Classic Tournament on Wheel Lake at Banner Marsh.

Manito, Ill. DNR issued a fish salvage declaration for the south lake at Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in Tazewell County on May 5.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated three rivers in Illinois and several in Missouri as “critical habitat” areas for endangered species that play an important role in water quality.
The federal agency

A measure backed by the Illinois Trappers Association aimed at increasing the size of foothold traps used for beavers and otters in the state was scheduled for a Second Reading after passing out of the

A one-way trap has been installed in a channel that links the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Rock Run Rookery Preserve lake to the Des Plaines River as part of the battle to keep
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