Outdoor Recreational Needs & The Hunter Lake Opportunity Illinois Department of Natural Resources December 3, 2018 Introduction In 2015, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) entered into agreement with the City of Springfield to manage city-owned property surrounding the City’s proposed secondary water supply (Hunter Lake). The City has already acquired 7,138 acres for the project located in southeastern Sangamon County. The lake is expected to cover 2,560 surface-acres with water. Outdoors recreation generates about $32 billion in economic activity each year for the State of Illinois, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All this activity supports 90,000 jobs statewide. As the population of the United States continues its gradual migration from rural to urban areas (U.S. Census Bureau), demand for recreational land, open space and hunting and fishing opportunities will continue to grow. With 95 percent of Illinois land in private hands, the state ranks 46th in terms of land in public ownership. The IDNR owns and manages about 480,000 acres. The partnership between the City and IDNR is intended to provide additional public access for outdoor recreation, education and habitat conservation on Hunter Lake and its surrounding area. The City concluded the IDNR is the appropriate state agency to help the City achieve this objective. IDNR has statutory authority to manage the state’s fish and wildlife resources. To this end, the City chose to enter a Memorandum of Cooperation with IDNR (Appendix A) and tasked the Agency with managing the property’s outdoors potential for recreational opportunity, including hunting, fishing, bird-watching, biking, hiking and camping. Managing the Hunter Lake property for outdoor recreation will have additional benefits. Drawing on its experience managing Lake Springfield, the City determined that no residential development would be permitted around the new lake. Instead, the shoreline and surrounding land would be left in natural cover to prevent runoff from roads, lawns and septic systems. In addition, the City sought to protect the shoreline from erosion and to reduce the amount of silt that would enter the lake. Both actions could significantly reduce future lake management and water treatment expenses. About IDNR IDNR’s mission is to manage, conserve and protect Illinois' natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public's understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and protection of Illinois' natural resources for present and future generations. IDNR is the State Agency with statutory authority governing outdoors recreation in Illinois. IDNR is a diverse agency with responsibility for wildlife and fish resources, forestry, natural areas, endangered species, state parks, historic sites and the Illinois State Museum. The Agency also has regulatory responsibility for oil and gas extraction and coal and aggregate mining operations. IDNR has about 1,100 employees statewide. A force of Conservation Police Officers provides law enforcement support for the Agency. Economics of Access Lack of access to land for hunting is one of the most-often cited barriers to hunting (Miller and Vaske, 2003). IDNR relies on hunting and trapping programs to help manage wildlife populations, while providing recreational opportunity. Licenses, stamps and permits purchased by sportsmen and women support conservation efforts statewide, including exotic species management, wildlife population surveys and land acquisition. Illinois also receives federal funds for wildlife and fish management. Pittman Robertson Funds come from a Federal excise tax of 11 percent on sporting goods like firearms and ammunition. This money is apportioned to the states based on a formula that factors the number of hunting licenses sold and the state’s land area. Illinois receives an apportionment of $16-$17 million per year. On the fishing side, Illinois receives federal Dingell-Johnson Funds which are distributed based on the same formula. Illinois receives $6.5 million in Federal DJ funds. In central Illinois, demand at public hunting sites often outstrips supply. At the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area about 40 miles from Springfield, 280 out of 8,017 hunters who applied for firearm deer permits in 2018 were successful; a four percent success rate. (Appendix C: Table 1). Despite the large size of the Jim Edgar Panther Creek complex (about 16,000 acres) the site must limit the number of hunters to properly manage deer numbers and still provide a quality hunting experience. Illinois counts hunters and anglers who purchase licenses and submits these numbers to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so the state’s apportionment of the Federal excise tax can be calculated. The most recent figures are: 299,614 paid hunting license holders and 643,912 paid fishing license holding anglers. Any free licenses provided to various classes of sportsmen and women by statute cannot be counted. Children under 16 do not need a fishing license. IDNR is focused on carrying on the tradition of hunting through implementation of the Illinois Hunting Heritage Act (520ILCS 30). Due to long-term declines in the numbers of licenses sold, most states have developed R3 programs to reverse this trend. R3 stands for Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation. Efforts are aimed at recruiting new hunters and anglers, keeping those that already purchase licenses active and re-engaging those that have let their licenses lapse. IDNR’s Division of Wildlife Resources has established a Hunter Heritage Program that uses a science-based approach to determine how best to improve participation. Already, “Learn to Hunt” workshops have been held, and more efforts are planned. The Division of Fisheries has three staff persons (in north, central and southern Illinois) to organize outreach and manage fishing clinics for children and adults in their regions. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the number of hunters and anglers increased between 2006 and 2011. Natural Resources managers are hopeful that long-term downward trends in license sales and hunter and angler participation can be reversed by continued efforts to provide more hunting and fishing opportunity. The Agency also leverages private land to provide additional access and support its R3 efforts. The Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP), funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides lease payments to landowners that agree to open their properties to hunting, fishing or other outdoors activities on a controlled basis. Primarily, efforts have been focused on matching land enrolled in the IRAP program with first-time youth hunters and adults who are new to the sport. Landowners enrolled in the program also receive assistance managing and restoring their property, particularly in the control of invasive species. These private landowners can request that a comprehensive habitat/forestry management plan written and they also are eligible for assistance to implement habitat restoration projects. Since IRAP’s inception in 2011, more than 19,600 acres in 49 counties have been leased for outdoor recreational activities. Thousands of outdoor enthusiasts have taken advantage of increased access to private land. About 11,000 acres have benefitted from habitat projects, including aerial spraying to control invasive species like bush honeysuckle. Additional projects including prescribed burning, grass and tree planting and pollinator habitat restoration. Partnership Agreements Entering into purchase or management agreements to provide public access and protect sensitive natural resources is a common practice for the IDNR. The Agency manages all land acquisition and other property interests; negotiates and administers more than 1,500 concessions, land leases, rights of way, special permits, utility licenses and other agreements covering all owned or managed IDNR properties. The Agency acquires property through a variety of mechanisms. A few examples are below: • The Natural Areas Acquisition Fund receives dollars from the Real Estate Transfer Tax. It is used, in part, to acquire high quality natural areas for permanent protection. • PR dollars can be used to help acquire land for hunting and related recreation. Recently, the Department has begun acquiring a complex of properties in east central Illinois to serve as pheasant and upland game hunting areas. In southern Illinois, a portion of the former Burning Star Mine was purchased to become a bobwhite quail focus area. When the Department purchases a property to allow hunting, it may qualify for matching federal funds to partially reimburse the state for the purchase. • Additionally, IDNR’s Open Land Trust program, seeks to fund governments for the purpose of acquiring lands for the protection of lakes, rivers, streams, open space, parks, natural lands, wetlands, prairies, forests, watersheds, resource-rich areas, green ways, significant fish and wildlife resources, and endangered or threatened species habitat, and for public outdoor natural resource related recreation purposes. The recent announcement of a significant addition to Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks was funded by OLT. • The Agency also occasionally receives donated tracts of land. Recreational Opportunities Public Lands Hunting To determine potential use of the Hunter Lake property by hunters, nearby public sites of comparable size were examined. The two central Illinois sites,