The 2023 Starved Rock ornament from the Illinois Conservation Foundation. (Provided)

Illinois nature lovers can bring the state’s most famous outdoor treasures indoors, with a new series of holiday ornaments featuring state parks.

Invasive carp seining operation in action. (Courtesy of Illinois Department of Natural Resources)

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reporting an intensive 10-day “harvest” operated that netted 750,000 pounds of invasive silver carp, pulled from the Illinois River near Starved Rock.

A black bear seen in unincorporated Antioch, June 2023. (Lake County IL Sheriff's Office / Facebook)

Wildlife officials believe the bear spotted over the weekend in Antioch is the same one seen last Wednesday in Gurnee.

A bulldozer slices through Bell Bowl Prairie, March 9, 2023. (Courtesy of Jessie Mermel)

Bell Bowl Prairie was bulldozed Thursday morning after an 18-month fight to save the ancient prairie remnant from destruction by Rockford Airport, which is carving out a roadway for an expansion of its cargo operations.

Natalie Phelps Finnie. (Courtesy of Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
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Pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate, Natalie Phelps Finnie is poised to become just the second woman to head the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, following in the trailblazing footsteps of her immediate predecessor Colleen Callahan.

A mountain lion, also known as a cougar, puma or panther. (Nicky Pe / Pexels)

A mountain lion that ventured into Illinois has met with a tragic end, confirmed to have been struck and killed by a vehicle on I-88 in DeKalb County on Sunday, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has announced.

The Old State Capitol in Springfield. (Google Streetview)

Between 1841 and 1872, the building served as the seat of Illinois Supreme Court, during which time justices heard several cases linked to Illinois' Underground Railroad.

Illinois National Guard soldiers move sandbags through flood waters at East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, on June 12, 2019, as they construct a sandbag levee to control flooding in the community. (Barbara Wilson / Illinois National Guard)

Illinois officials are about to release a draft of the first comprehensive overhaul of the State Water Plan in 40 years, with climate change among the critical issues the document is set to address.

(WTTW News)

Illinois is rebranding Asian carp as “copi” in a bid to get people to eat the invasive fish into submission. Fishermen are catching thousands of pounds a day and barely making a dent in the number of carp in waterways like the Illinois River, where it's estimated 20 million to 50 million could be harvested annually.

Asian carp on ice. (WTTW News)

A stalled movement to give the invasive Asian carp a more palatable name has regained momentum, and the big reveal is now set for June 22.

(Yanna Zissiadou / Unsplash)

The greatest risk of bird flu outbreaks has passed, wildlife officials said. Poultry owners need to remain vigilant, though, and feeding ducks and geese should be avoided.

Just 4% of Illinois is officially protected. Nature preserve status is the highest level of protection available in Illinois. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Illinois has made a commitment to conserve 30% of the state’s land and water resources by the year 2030. What will it take to reach that target?

A bighead carp, like the one caught in the Humboldt Park lagoon. (Evan Garcia / WTTW News)

When a fish the size of a 10-year-old child was pulled from the Humboldt Park lagoon earlier this month, the reaction quickly went from “Oooh” to “Uh-oh.” The angler had reeled a whopper of an invasive bighead carp accidentally stocked 20 years ago. Are there more?

Construction on the Rockford Airport cargo expansion has come right to the edge of Bell Bowl Prairie. (Courtesy of Cassi Saari)

Supporters of the movement to save Bell Bowl Prairie, a small patch of rare remnant prairie situated within the boundaries of Chicago Rockford International Airport, say they have a simple solution that preserves the prairie and allows the airport to expand: Just move a road.

Bell Bowl Prairie, a high-quality remnant of Illinois prairie, located within the boundary of Chicago Rockford International Airport. (Courtesy of Cassi Saari)
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Conservationists are in a race against the clock to save a five-acre patch of rare Illinois prairie from being bulldozed as part of a 280-acre expansion of the Chicago Rockford International Airport's cargo operation.

(Pixabay / GeorgeB2)

Hundreds of songbirds have died in Indiana from a mysterious illness, prompting wildlife officials in that state to ask residents to remove all bird feeders. Officials in Illinois say they have yet to receive reports of similar infections.