
Illinois Mixed Bag: Outdoor Hall of Fame Nominations Due July 15
The Illinois Conservation Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2026 Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame. Nominations must be submitted online by July 15.

The Illinois Conservation Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2026 Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame. Nominations must be submitted online by July 15.

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 look at upcoming outdoors-related events from across Illinois published in the July 10, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.

On July 1, Natalie Phelps Finnie stepped down as director of DNR. After more than four years inside the agency – first as deputy director beginning in August 2021, then as director since January 2023

Reader-submitted letters to the editor published in the July 10, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.

Eggs that made up a least bittern nest discovered in Kane County last month have hatched and produced chicks, according to a report by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
The least bittern

Illinois cuffs and collars are field reports from Conservation Police Officers. These reports are from the July 10, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.

Conservation should be one of the easiest concepts to explain to hunters. After all, hunters helped build the North American model of wildlife conservation.
They funded wildlife restoration through license sales and excise taxes,

DNR biologists are still monitoring a widespread die-off of invasive silver carp in the Illinois River, saying the event appears to be the result of natural environmental conditions rather than pollution or chemical contamination.
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