Waterfowl refuge area to close
JONESBORO - A popular place for hunting, fishing and nature viewing, Oakwood Bottoms Greentree Reservoir near Grand Tower, Illinois was developed by the Shawnee National Forest over 50 years ago. Today, this 3,600-acre bottomland hardwood forest serves as a critical waterfowl migration stopover and wintering place in the Mississippi Flyway. With only 20% of the original bottomland hardwood forests in the lower Mississippi floodplain remaining, areas like Oakwood Bottoms provide vital resting and feeding areas for tens of thousands of waterfowl.
Because of this scarcity of quality waterfowl areas the Shawnee National Forest has designated a new waterfowl refuge area within Oakwood Bottoms Greentree Reservoir. Beginning with the 2015 waterfowl season, the designated waterfowl refuge will be closed from 14 days prior to waterfowl hunting season to the end of waterfowl hunting season in the southern central zone. No walking access or hunting will be permitted in the designated waterfowl refuge.
The Shawnee National Forest has designated this waterfowl refuge closure with the objective of increasing the number of resident and migratory waterfowl using Oakwood Bottoms and therefore increase the recreation qualities of Oakwood Bottoms for nature viewing and hunting activities. This annual closure of the designated waterfowl refuge area will begin with the 2015 waterfowl hunting season and last for a trial period of 3 to 5 years, with the possibility of becoming more permanent.
The area will be closed to all use, including walk-in visitors, so that all waterfowl species can go undisturbed and find refuge. This season's closure dates are October 31, 2015 through January 12, 2016 and violators found within the waterfowl refuge area between those dates will be ticketed. For more information contact Chad Deaton, wildlife biologist with the Shawnee National Forest at 618-833-8576, or go to the Shawnee National Forest website and click on the Oakwood Bottoms Hunting Information and Maps link.