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The hardest part about taking a youngster hunting is finding a place to hunt!
There are sites operated by the Illinois DNR, but sometimes they fill up so very
fast that permits are not available anymore. You see there are a lot of people
in the same situation, which makes the state sites get flooded with hundreds of
requests for pheasant permits.
Some grant money has been given to the state to help open more private land.
Information about the program is here:
www.dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/IRAP/Pages
It is called IRAP—Illinois Recreational Access Program.
The whole idea is to have landowners get paid to open their land for all types
of outdoor recreation. This includes deer, turkey, waterfowl, non- motorized
boat entry and outdoor photography and more in 68 counties in Illinois. I
know a lot of people have given up trying to find a place, because a lot of
times when you ask the landowner, the reply is usually no. I believe the
biggest fear of the landowner is a lawsuit for you hurting yourself on his land.
I couldn’t specifically find it, but I’m pretty sure that cannot happen under
this program and he is protected. That relieves the pressure on the landowner
tremendously.
If we don’t start to get our children involved in the outdoors, I’m sure they
will find many indoor activities you would not want them involved in.
Most everyone that I have taught to hunt & shoot as a child stayed pretty
straight, because his or her interest lies in the outdoor recreation and somehow
the outdoors sports of fishing & hunting tend to keep a youngster involved in
good things!
Next time you are at the range or a hunting area, look around and see how many
non-gray haired people you see. Somehow if the youth don’t get involved early in
life, the street corner seems to be the favorite spot to be. This program
could open many opportunities for Illinois citizens.
Once the landowners see how it operates they too will have other neighbors jump
in. You can’t plant corn in the woods, but if you get paid for utilizing those
woods for recreation, it could help with the bills around the farm.
So if you know some landowners in your area and it is in one of the counties
eligible, maybe you should inform him of the program. The person in charge of
this is at the link below:
For more information, contact Tammy Miller at
tammy.miller@illinois.gov or call 217-524-1266.
It’s all up to we established hunters and anglers to help this program work
while helping steer our youth in the right direction. It also opens the door for
many adults who just don’t have that land available to really enjoy our God
given gift of beautiful and serene nature and wildlife!
This article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the official position of the ISRA.
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