28 / OutdoorIllinois January 2007

vides a system forconcerned citizenswho witness a con-servation offense toreport the violation.Simply defined,“poaching” is the ille-gal taking or possession of game and non-game animals, fish or other resources.Call 1-877-2DNRLAW (1-877-236-7529).� Conserve Habitats: Offer yourassistance in the purchase and manage-ment of critical habitats. Join a local orga-nization on a work day to replant riverbanks with native plants, clean up a river,remove invasive species from a prairieand other habitat restoration projects.� Plant Natives: Ask your nurseryoperator to help you select plants nativeto your area. While there, stress theimportance of and reasons for minimiz-ing the use of non-native plants.

� Control Introduced Plants and

Animals: If you own an aquarium orwater garden, do not release unwantedaquatic vegetation and animals intolakes, rivers and streams. For moreinformation visit www.habitattitude.net.� Join an Organization: Manycommunity groups are dedicated to con-servation activities and would appreciateyour help.� Make Your Voice Heard: Tellyour family and friends, and write lettersand articles for your local newspaper,about endangered and threatenedspecies and rare habitats.

Legislation alone can’t save rare plants and animals. Thefate of our natural world depends on you.

What CanYou Do to Help?� Volunteer Your Time: From thePlants of Concern Program volunteers(who monitor more than 25 subpopula-tions of endangered and threatenedspecies) to volunteers monitoring rarespecies of orchids to participants in theannual Christmas and spring birdcounts, teams of Illinois citizens con-tribute countless hours assisting local,state and federal land managers andbiologists manage and protect nativeflora, fauna and habitats.� Make a Donation: Not only doadults make contributions to the WildlifePreservation Fund, so do youth. RogersElementary School in Marquette Heightsraised nearly $11,000 from 1996through 2005 and each year earmarkedfunds to assist in the recovery or man-agement of one Illinois species. Speciesincluded the red-shouldered hawk, barnowl, Illinois mud turtle, massasauga rat-tlesnake, Indiana bat, river otter, listedfreshwater mussels and Franklin’sground squirrel.� Support Education Programs:

Encourage the use of Illinois-specific nat-ural resource education materials in yourlocal schools. Several divisions withinDNR produce educational materials suit-able for classroom use. Visit www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/education.index.htm fora list of available materials.� Report Potential Violations: The“Target Illinois Poachers” program pro-

In addition to Illinois taxpayers making donations to

the Wildlife Preservation Fund during tax season,

donations are also made throughout the year by other

wildlife supporters, including Illinois school children.

(PhotocourtesyAdeleHodde.)