Illinois Department of Natural Resources Archives - Illinois Environmental Council

Monarch butterfly license plates finally available in Illinois

November 30, 2023

After seven years in the making, the state has unveiled the monarch butterfly decal license plate. Proceeds from the decals will benefit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Monarch Habitat Fund, which fosters habitats that support the beloved orange butterflies’ migratory journey south to Mexico each fall. The organization has a goal of adding 150 […]

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Trust the Land: Looking at the Impacts of the Natural Areas Stewardship Act

November 3, 2023

The Natural Areas Stewardship Act allows IDNR to award grants to conservationists like land trusts. Now, over 5 years into the law, take a look back at the impacts of this bill with IEC’s Conservation Director Lindsay Keeney— the wins, progress made and the work that couldn’t have been done without it.

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Rep. Rita’s Legislation to Reduce Fishing License Fees Becomes Law

August 14, 2023

State Rep. Bob Rita has a new solution in Illinois law for anyone interested in fishing across the state but not so sure about paying the license fee. Rita, D-Blue Island, this year led the push for House Bill 2317. The bill significantly reduces the license fee for sport fishing or spearing for anyone 26 years

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Illinois environmentalists push for state action to protect wetlands after Supreme Court ruling rolls back federal rules

June 6, 2023

Across the country, marshes, swamps and bogs quietly soak up flood water and filter pollutants. Ecologists agree they are one of the best natural defenses against climate change. But after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, more than half of the country’s 118 million acres of wetlands, according to estimates from the environmental firm Earthjustice, will

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Jen Walling Opinion: What Illinois can do since Supreme Court gutted federal protection of wetlands, waterways

May 30, 2023

The Supreme Court last week restricted the EPA’s ability to protect America’s waterways and wetlands. Illinois can’t afford to sit back and do nothing to protect both in our state, the head of the Illinois Environmental Council writes. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Legislature must act immediately to

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A federal bill with bipartisan support could bring 20x more money to Illinois conservation efforts

December 13, 2022

That manatees still swim along Florida’s coast, grizzly bears still roam the west and bald eagles still fly in North American skies is due, in large part, to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 — once described by the Supreme Court as “the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation.”

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Jen Walling: Pritzker should extend national climate leadership to nature-based solutions

December 12, 2022

Illinois is beautiful. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn’t experienced Shawnee’s Garden of the Gods at sunset, the rolling hills near the Apple River, the Mississippi River viewed from the top of the bluffs, waterfalls from Waterfall Glen in the suburbs to Ferne Clyffe in Shawnee, or Lake Michigan at sunrise. In his next term, Gov.

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Agriculture Lease Agreements with Illinois Department of Natural Resources

March 9, 2022

In December of 2021, Lindsay Keeney and Eliot Clay of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) sat down with Mike Chandler and Bob Caveny of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to discuss the department’s agriculture lease program. Mike Chandler is the Agricultural Lease Manager for the IDNR and has been with the department for 29 years. Bob Caveny is the Farm Programs Manager and has been with IDNR for 10 years.

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Documenting Pollinators with Photography

April 14, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udbAZ5f7BjA In the 20th edition of the IEC Lunch and Learn Series, IEC is joined by Angella Moorehouse of Illinois Department of Natural Resources to discuss pollinator documentation using photography. Find links and resources from this session below: Illinois Department of Natural Resources website

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Natural Resources and Conservation in the Illinois Budget

June 13, 2018

Breaking a long trend of cuts and unspent appropriations, natural resources finally received improved funding in the FY19 Illinois budget and capital budget. One especially heartening development will see the operating budget for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources increase 6.7% compared to FY18. A major highlight of the capital plan is the dedication of

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2012: Year of the Illinois State Parks

January 12, 2012

We are just a couple of weeks into the year and 2012 is shaping up to be an interesting year for state parks. Unfortunately, this is not simply a year to celebrate the natural wonders of our state parks. This is the year that we are going to have to work together to protect and

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Illinois Department of Natural Resources