When Glenn Sanders speaks, it pays to listen.
So when the retired Illinois Conservation Police sergeant spoke during public comments at an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Advisory Board committee meeting, everyone took note.
The meeting was to discuss opportunities for outdoorsmen and hunters to gain access to private lands, but it also gave Sanders the opportunity to bring other issues to light.
One struck a chord with me.
Illinois might be deer hunting heaven, but it is so much more.
Sanders spoke about the need for the state to promote its wealth of outdoor opportunities, not just deer hunting. Often overlooked are such activities as hiking, bird watching, horseback riding and trapping.
No one will argue deer hunting provides a major economic boost for the state and local communities, who count on out-of-state hunters to spend money on hotels, restaurants and shops.
It's big business that benefits us all.
There are other ways we can benefit, too, as long as we know what's there.
Before Sanders spoke, the committee brought up the state's nature preserves as a discussion topic. Little did I know there are more than 84,500 acres set aside in Illinois as nature preserves.
Why doesn't the state do more to promote itself?
Spokesmen for the IDNR will contend such information is available on the department's Web site -- www.dnr.state.il.us -- but the chore is finding it. There are issues with the DNR site being user friendly. Just do a search for a topic and you'll know what I mean.
The site does have a lot of useful information, but if you don't know exactly where to find it, you may have trouble accessing it.
There is talk of the DNR creating a site for hunters, one that would mirror the site designed for Illinois anglers -- www.ilfishing.com. It sounds like a worthwhile venture, except for one pesky issue.
The information is already at the DNR site. It would make more sense to revamp the site Illinois outdoorsmen already are trained to check.
That is only a portion of the problem.
The rest is creating awareness and popularity for other activities.
Dove season opened Sept. 1, and three times I've been to the Buckhorn Unit of Siloam Springs State Park. Twice, there were less than 10 hunters scattered across the land. Once, I couldn't find a dove hunter.
In fact, I've only had a handful of people question me about dove season and how prevalent doves have been.
Every day, though, someone asks me about deer season. Have you scouted? What have you seen? Have you shot your bow? Where are you going to hunt? Any big bucks around?
I find myself talking and thinking about deer season an awful lot.
Sanders helped remind me there is more out there to see and more out there to do. This state has a wealth of natural resources that appeal in some way to every outdoorsman or nature lover.
Sometimes that's easy to forget.
-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366
