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OutdoorIllinois
VOLUME IX, NUMBER 4
OUTDOOR ILLINOIS is published monthly by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Public Services, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701-1787, phone (217) 782-7454, e-mail editor@dnrmail.state.il.us.
(Publication number: ISSN 1072-7175) Periodical Postage Paid at Springfield, IL POSTMASTER: Send address changes to OUTDOOR ILLINOIS, Department of Natural Resources, Dept. NL, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701-1787.
George H. Ryan Governor
Brent Manning Director
James D. Garner Deputy Director
Jim Riemer, Jr. Deputy Director
STAFF: James L. Fulgenzi, office director; Gary Thomas, editor; Liz Pensoneau, managing editor; John Alien, staff writer; P.J. Perea, staff writer; Adele Hodde, chief photographer; Chas. J. Dees, staff photographer; Charles J. Copley, design & layout; Cheryl Gwinn, production coordinator; Vera Lynn Smith, circulation.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Internet Address: http://dnr.state.il.us
Staff-written material appearing in this publication may be reprinted without permission, provided that OUTDOOR ILLINOIS, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is acknowledged as the source. OUTDOOR ILLINOIS assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or illustrations.
Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies is available to all individuals regardless of race, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion or other non-merit factors. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the funding source's civil rights office and/or the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, DNR, 524 S. Second, Springfield, IL 62701-1787; 217/785-0067; TTY 217/782-9175.
All public meetings conducted by the Department of Natural Resources will be accessible to handicapped individuals in compliance with Executive Order No. 5 and pertinent state and federal laws, upon notification of the anticipated attendance. Handicapped persons planning to attend and needing special accommodations should inform the Department of Natural Resources at least five days prior to the meeting by telephoning or writing the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, Department of Natural Resources, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701-1787, phone (217) 785-0067.
Department of Natural Resources information is available to the hearing impaired by calling DNR's Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (217) 782-9175.
Printed by the Authority of the State of Illinois PRT3216173-28,395-7/01 Illinois Department of Natural Resources Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with soy-based ink.
Illinois Department of
Natural Resources
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The Opportunists
A look at what's being done in Illinois to quash a nearly out-of-control uprising of invasive species.
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Increase Your Odds
Wild turkeys are some of the most challenging animals to hunt. Hear from the professionals who have learned to outwit them.
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Decoys as Art
This Illinois artist carved a niche for himself in folk art history.
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A Pretty Little Park
Northern Illinoisans know where they can get away from it all without going far.
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It's All Wet
Carlyle Lake's newest outdoor classroom is a learning experience for all.
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NewsFront
You'll learn how Illinois and Missouri have simplified Mississippi River fishing regulations, find out how to become an outdoor woman, meet DNR's new deputy director, find out where the trout are running, learn about the new MuseumLink, get the smelt season rules and find out about the latest Franklin Creek award in this month's NewsFront.
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On the cover...
Richard Day snapped our cover photograph of a strutting turkey at Stephen A. Forbes State Park in Marion County.
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April 2001
As about 600 of our readers already know, for the past year, the editors of Outdoorlllinois have been sending out a random monthly survey to 50 subscribers.
While the survey changes a little from time to time, it basically asks readers if they are receiving their magazine in a timely manner, and asks them to evaluate the past month's feature stories, cover photography, inside photography and news. They can choose between excellent, good, okay, needs improvement and poor in each category.
The survey also asks readers which story they liked best, which one they liked least, and then asks subscribers to tell us one thing to improve the magazine. The most recent change in our survey asks for one additional bit of information. It asks readers to send us the subject for one feature story they would like to read in an upcoming issue of the magazine.
We have received a lot of constructive criticism. In fact, some of the changes you might have noticed in OutdoorIllinois likely came as a result of a suggestion from a reader. While we plan to continue sending out these surveys to 50 readers each month, we are interested in what every one of our readers thinks about the magazine and his or her suggestion(s) for improving the publication. So with this editorial, I would like to invite our readers to submit their comments. Tell us:
What do you like best about the publication?
What do you like least?
What one thing would you like to see done to improve the publication?
What would you like to see covered in a feature story for a future issue? (List as many topics as you want.)
There are a few things to keep in mind before making your suggestions. Like everything today, our magazine has a budget. You can ask us to double the size of the magazine, but our budget would prohibit us from doing so without increasing the cost of a subscription. We don't want to do that. You also need to keep in mind that we put this magazine together with a very small staff. There are numerous stories we would like to do—like taking a month-long canoe trip down the Mississippi River from Dubuque to Cairo—that we cannot justify because of the time away from the office.
With those rules in place, we're waiting to hear from you. We've received a lot of good ideas since we began our monthly surveys, and I hope we get a lot of good ones from you, our readers.
Send your responses to: OutdoorIllinois Magazine, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill. 62701-1787, or email them to: editor@dnrmail.state.il.us.
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