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Manning elected president of IAFWA Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Brent Manning was elected president of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies at its fall meeting in Montana. Manning said he will encourage association members to place increased emphasis on youth education during his tenure. "Our culture is losing its connection to the natural world," Manning observed. "The need to educate young people about the natural resources of this land, while always important, is growing in significance every day. There are more than 70 million young people under age 18 who will lead our nation in the future, designing and determining tomorrow's policies. The actions we undertake now will determine whether tomorrow's leaders will have the knowledge and skills they need to enhance the natural resources of this land for generations to come." The association was founded in 1902 by wildlife managers from just six states and now represents all 50 state fish and wildlife agencies, as well as the provincial and federal governments in Canada and Mexico. It presents a collective voice for wildlife management in North America. Manning is the longest-serving director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and its predecessor agency, the Department of Conservation, having held the post since April 1991. During his tenure, Illinois has acquired more than 85,000 acres of additional lands for recreation, including two of its largest parks; developed the largest land acquisition program in state history; created habitat restoration programs (Conservation 2000 and Illinois Rivers 2020/CREP) that have become national models; and created the Illinois Conservation Foundation, which has raised $15 million for DNR programs. Kirby Cottrell honored by IAFWA Kirby Cottrell, director of DNR's Office of Resource Conservation, was recognized during the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies annual meeting for his contributions to the Federal-State Aquaculture Drug Approval Partnership Project. For more than a decade, Cottrell has been instrumental in setting up the process to provide the Food and Drug Administration data for labeling drugs critically needed by the aquaculture industry for sport fish maintenance, food fish production and the culture and restoration of threatened and endangered species. Resources for landowners Want to learn more about managing your backyard wilderness? Information for landowners regarding the types of natural resource assistance available to them can be found on the Department of Natural Resources website http://dnr.state.il.us. From this page, click on financial assistance and scroll down the list of financial programs available. The Landowners Guide to Natural Resources Management Incentives is available at http://dnr.state.il.us/OREP/C2000/Incentives.htm. 20 OutdoorIllinois Newsbriefs • DNR's Urban Waterfowl Project will host seminars for Chicago-area landowners experiencing conflicts with Canada geese. The seminars will cover topics related to Canada goose management, such as relevant laws, basic biology and methods to control goose damage. Seminars will last from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. Interested landowners, including park districts, villages, corporate campuses, golf courses and the general public, are invited to attend. Preregistration is necessary. Call (630) 271-4021 or email rwildlife@dnrmail.state.il. us for further information. • DNR's Greenways & Trails Program website recently won top honors from American Trails in the state agency web-site category (see http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/planning/index. htm). For more information about the organization, visit http://www.americantrails.org. • The deadline for the submission of applications for Special Fund Grant Programs administered through DNR has been extended. Applications will be accepted for the Illinois Habitat Fund, State Pheasant Fund and the Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Fund through Dec. 31, 2002. For an application or additional information, call (217) 782-2602, email specialfunds@dnr mail.state.il.us or view the web-site at http://dnr.state.il.us/grants/index.htm. • Workshops on Biodiversity, Wetlands and Biological Control: Purple Loosestrife a Case Study, sponsored by the Illinois Natural History Survey and DNR/ENTICE will be held Jan. 25 at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland (Cook County) and Feb. 1 at Volo Bog State Natural Area near McHenry. Educators interested in these free workshops should contact Susan Post (217) 333-4322 or email spost@mail.inhs.uiuc.edu. • The scenic overlook area at Castle Rock State Park in Ogle County closed Oct. 28 for replacement of the wooden boardwalk/stairway and enlargement of the parking area. Construction is scheduled to last approximately 150 days. • The Digest of Waterfowl Hunting Regulations 2002-03 is posted on the DNR website under the heading "publications" at http://dnr.state.il.us. • Alan Poster of Shelbyville and Paul Hortenstine of Joliet won first place in the 7th Annual Director's Muskie Tournament on Lake Shelbyville, held Oct. 5-6. The winner's two-day catch of four muskies totaled 142 inches. The tournament is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and Ranger Boats and hosted by the Illinois Conservation Foundation and Eagle Creek State Park. Poster contest underway Illinois' annual Arbor Day poster contest for fifth-grade students, sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources and the National Arbor Day Foundation, is underway. This year's theme is "Trees are Terrific.... from Acorn to Oak!" Packets have been mailed out to all schools with fifth grades. Teachers who did not receive a packet can request one by calling (217) 524-4126 or by emailing teach kids@dnrmail.state.il.us. Each school must send in its winning entry by Feb. 20 (one month earlier than in previous years). Last year's Illinois winner, Sooah Yoo, a fifth-grade student at Woodland Intermediate School in Grayslake, also won the national contest. For more information, check the web at: http://dnr.state, il.us/lands/education/ CLAS S RM/poster.htm. Snakehead fish banned in Illinois The Illinois Department of Natural Resources recently filed an emergency rule banning the importation, possession and release of snakehead fish in Illinois, declaring the snakehead an "injurious species" posing a threat to wildlife, aquatic life and habitat in the state. Illinois' action complements efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to impose a nationwide ban on importation and interstate transportation of snakeheads by adding the family of 28 snakehead species to the federal list of "injurious wildlife" under the Lacey Act. "The threat of the snakehead is significant, given its voracious appetite, its ability to live in or out of water virtually anywhere in the country and its potential for causing enormous damage to native fish and wildlife," DNR Director Brent Manning said. "To try to prevent the escape or release of snakeheads in Illinois, we are prohibiting possession of them, effective immediately." Illinois joins at least 13 other states which have banned possession of snakehead fish, and its emergency rule will be in place for 150 days while a permanent rule is being adopted. The emergency rule bans possession, propagation, buying, selling, bartering or transfer of snakehead species unless a permit is obtained from the DNR. The rule also bans the release of snakeheads. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $5,000. Snakehead species have been available in the U.S. as aquarium fish and in markets and restaurants for human consumption. The fish are long and cylindrical in shape, have enlarged scales on their heads, a large mouth and large, canine-like teeth. Its air breathing capability allows the snake-head to migrate on land from one body of water to another, endure low oxygen levels in water or under ice and survive transport to fish markets. For a complete text of the emergency rule, visit DNR's website at http://dnr.state.il.us/legal/805-emergency.htm. For more information on snakehead fish, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/snake headfstotal.pdf.
Largemouth Bass Virus update Tests conducted in Illinois in August found the presence of largemouth bass virus (LMBV) in three bodies of water, while tests at another location and at two state fish hatcheries found that the virus was not present. The tests, conducted as part of nationwide research into the virus, found fish testing positive in Channel Lake in McHenry County, Lake Michigan at North Point Marina in Lake County and at Lake Vermilion in Vermilion County. Fish tested negative at Skokie Lagoons in Cook County. At the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery in Mason County and Little Grassy Fish Hatchery in Williamson County, fingerling largemouth bass tested negative. "While we did find largemouth bass virus in three of the four lakes we tested this year, there have been no fish kills reported anywhere in Illinois attributed to the virus," said Mike Conlin, DNR fisheries chief. "Presence of the virus doesn't mean fish have the disease, or that they will get it in the future. Research indicates the virus is triggered by a combination of stress factors, including high water temperatures, low oxygen levels and frequent handling of the fish." LMBV was first noted in South Carolina in 1995 and has since been found in at least 15 other states. Scientists are unsure how it is transmitted and why it sometimes kills bass. Most fish carrying the virus appear normal. Once the virus is triggered, dying bass have trouble swimming, as the disease attacks their swim bladder. The virus does not affect warm-blooded animals, including humans. Fish with LMBV are safe to handle and to eat. Anglers can minimize the impact of the LMBV by handling bass as gently as possible; by draining water from bilge and live wells and by cleaning boats and trailers between fishing trips; by not moving fish or fish parts from one body of water to another; and by conducting bass tournaments during cooler weather, limiting stress caused by fishing pressure and low oxygen levels. In previous Illinois LMBV tests in 2001, fish from four lakes tested positive. Of the fish tested at the Jake Wolf and Little Grassy hatcheries, brood fish (adults) and fingerling bass that were fin clipped for research purposes tested positive. All other fish tested at the hatcheries last year tested negative for the virus. Illinois will continue to test bass in 2003 as part of the nationwide research protocol regarding largemouth bass virus. New nature preserve areas approved The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission recently announced the dedication of three new nature preserves and three nature preserve additions, along with the registration of three new land and water reserves, all totaling more than 700 acres. Areas dedicated as nature preserves may be used for hiking, viewing wildlife, nature photography and approved scientific research. Areas 22 OutdoorIllinois registered as land and water reserves may be used for the same activities, along with hunting, fishing and other approved activities that do not have negative impacts on the natural features of the protected area. Illinois now has 311 nature preserves in 79 counties totaling 42,463 acres, and 73 land and water reserves in 42 counties totaling 23,584 acres. The new nature preserve dedications approved by the commission are: • Middlefork Savanna Nature Preserve, Lake County— described as the best surviving mesic or black soil savanna in Illinois, among the most rare types of natural communities in the state. • Addition to Bartlett Woods Nature Preserve, Lee County— a 23-acre remnant of mesic upland forest within the flood-plain of Big Bureau Creek. • Sandra Miller Bellrose Nature Preserve, Logan County—includes an 0.8-mile segment of Sugar Creek-Salt Creek drainage recognized for a high diversity of freshwater mussels. The new nature preserve consists of a nine-acre tract of second-growth upland forest and a separate 61-acre tract of second-growth upland and bottomland forest. • Addition to Sandra Miller Bellrose Nature Preserve, Logan County—one-acre addition located on the bluff lands adjacent to Sugar Creek-Salt Creek, consisting of second-growth upland woods. • Lee Miglin Savanna Addition of Nature Preserve Buffer to Boone Creek Fen Nature Preserve, McHenry County—the 18-acre addition of buffer is a complex of wetland and upland communities with high-quality sedge meadow and graminoid fen plant communities. • Thomas W. and Elizabeth Moews Dore Seep Nature Preserve, Putnam County—a 26-acre seep and seep-related wetland community located within the Hennepin and Hopper Lakes Project, a 2,600-acre wetland restoration project along the Illinois River. The new land and water reserve registrations approved by the commission are: • Charles "Chinee" Colvin Sand Prairie Land and Water Reserve, Cass County—a 40-acre site containing a disturbed, but recovering, sand prairie where natural communities and degraded areas co-exist within a complex mosaic that supports populations of several endangered species. • Fon du Lac Seep Land and Water Reserve, Tazewell County—a 1.48-acre site within the 17.33-acre Fon du Lac Seep Natural Area. • Beall Woods Land and Water Reserve, Wabash County—much of the site is recognized for its 298 acres of dry-mesic upland forest, wet-mesic floodplain forest, wet floodplain forest and sandstone cliff natural communities. Landowners interested in preservation of high-quality natural lands should contact the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271, phone (217) 785-8686, Ameritech Relay 1-800-526-0844, or TTY (217) 782-9175.
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