Recreational Access

Openlands and a broad coalition of more than 94 community organizations and government entities are working with state legislators to restore protections afforded by the Recreational Use of Land and Water Areas Act.

For more than 40 years, Illinois protected landowners who opened up their property to the public against legal liability. The Recreational Use of Land and Water Areas Act defended landowners, land trusts, companies, and public agencies that allowed people onto their property to hike, bike, fish, bird-watch, conduct restoration efforts, hold nature classes, and participate in numerous other activities. Since less than 4% of the natural areas in Illinois are held in public trust, the law created tremendous opportunities for recreation and natural resource protection throughout the state.

Unfortunately, the law was changed in 2005 to cover landowners who made their land available for hunting and recreational shooting only, eliminating protection for all other activities! Illinois became the only state in the nation not offering this important protection. As a result, landowners across the state may severely restrict or eliminate access to their property for public outdoor recreational, conservation, and educational use.

For example, Draper’s Bluff, in southern Illinois, closed its doors to the public after offering rock climbers years of access to a breathtaking natural area. (Click here to read the open letter to the climbing community from Draper's Bluff owners Eric and Kathy Ulner.) 

We need to act NOW to restore these crucial protections for recreational and conservation access! Help reinstate these essential protections by contacting your state senator and representative today and encouraging him or her to restore broad liability protection for landowners who open their land to the public to increase the amount of open space for recreational, conservation, and educational activities. This is also a way for the state to provide more land for recreation without costing you a penny!

When you contact your legislator, you may wish to relate the following:

• Instances when you've gained access to private property for a specific recreational activity, such as biking, canoeing, fishing, horseback riding, etc.
• Trails that you and others in your organization use or are developing that could be closed or restricted for fear of legal liability.
• Examples of landowners who are willing to open their land to the public for recreational, conservation, and educational purposes.

At the 2010 Conservation Congress, Openlands launched a public awareness campaign that offered the following tools to help pass these protections—please feel free to use and share them to spread the word about recreational access in Illinois:

For more information about recreational access legislation, please contact Openlands Policy Coordinator Stacy Meyers-Glen via e-mail or by phone at 312-863-6265.