River restrictions eased

Watercraft Restrictions Removed on Several Rivers in Northern Illinois Restrictions still in place for a section of the Illinois River SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced that it will remove the recreational boating restrictions it authorized last week on the Des Plaines River, DuPage River, Kankakee River and the Mazon River. Rising water levels and swift currents led to the department restricting recreational boating on sections of these rivers last week. IDNR has been monitoring the situation and believes conditions have improved to the point of being able to safely reopen these rivers to recreational watercraft. However, the recreational boating restrictions are still in place on the Illinois River from mile marker 196 to mile marker 254.1 in Putnam, LaSalle and Bureau Counties. Recreational boating is still off limits in this area of the Illinois River until further notice. IDNR has authorization to designate restricted boating areas when navigation is deemed significantly hazardous. For more information about river restrictions, go to the IDNR website at www.dnr.state.il.us.