With the Illinois pheasant and quail hunting season opening this weekend, excitement is building for hunters who drew lottery upland game permits to hunt the new and improved
Willow Creek State Habitat Area in Edgar County. The "new and improved" designation is the result of a recent 121-acre addition by Pheasants Forever and partners that more than doubles the amount of publicly accessible land available at the site.
The 121-acre land acquisition project was made possible, in part, by the
Edgar County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, the North American Wetland Conservation Council, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Pheasants Forever’s
Build a Wildlife Area program. The new addition is now owned and managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
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"Strong partnerships, like the one we enjoy with Pheasants Forever, allow the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to better carry out its mission of improving outdoor recreational opportunities," said Marc Miller, director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Groups like Pheasants Forever can move quickly when land becomes available. By doing so, they play a key role in efforts to expand habitat and hunting opportunities to meet a growing need."
The new 121-acre addition lies directly north of the preexisting 87-acre Willow Creek State Habitat Area. Aaron Kuehl, Pheasants Forever’s director of conservation in Illinois, stated the property "includes nearly 100 acres of marginal farmland and degraded grasslands, which are in the process of being restored to a diverse mix of native grasses and wildflowers to provide excellent nesting and brood-rearing cover." He also added the property includes a small wetland and 1,621 feet of the South Fork Brouilletts Creek, known as a smallmouth bass fishery in the state.
Pheasants Forever held a land dedication ceremony for the project on Saturday, September 27. Nearly 50 local chapter leaders and community members attended the event, which included Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller, State Senator Chapin Rose, and State Representative Adam Brown.
Watch a video from the event.
The Willow Creek State Habitat Area is located five miles north of Paris, Ill. and will be open to public hunting, through the state's free upland game permit lottery, when the season starts on Saturday, November 1. The area is also open to archery hunting for deer (October only) and furbearer trapping. See the
Willow Creek Hunter Fact Sheet for more information.
About Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.