Prairie State Wire

A public drawing for trapping permits at the Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area and Helfrich Game Propagation Center in Logan County is scheduled for Tuesday, October 22. The event will be held at the propagation center office located at 1019 1310th St., Lincoln, with registration starting at 6:15 p.m. and the drawing commencing at 6:30 p.m.

The lottery-type drawing will allocate one permit for a designated trapping zone. Participants must be present to enter and are required to have a current 2024-2025 trapping license. Permitted traps include dog-proof traps, live traps, and similar types. Homemade dog-proof traps must feature a foothold trap no larger than #2 within an enclosed container with a single access opening not exceeding 1½ inches in diameter. All body-gripping traps need to be fully submerged.

Trappers who receive permits must obtain a free windshield card permit online for the site. They are also required to report their harvest or hunter trips online by February 15 each year or two weeks after the season closes if it ends after February 1. Failure to comply with this reporting requirement for two consecutive years will result in losing hunting privileges at this site for the following year.

For further details, interested parties can contact the site office at 217-732-1552.