Friends of the Shawnee National Forest is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to promoting responsible outdoor recreation, tourism, environmental education, and land stewardship — working hand-in-hand with the U.S. Forest Service since 2010.

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It still feels like summer, but some slight shifts are hinting at fall being well on the way; some of our beloved beaches will be closing after the Labor Day weekend is over, don’t fret, Pounds Hollow beach will remain open to the public for those craving some late summer dips. There’s always water to be found elsewhere throughout Southern Illinois as well, for instance at Hunting Branch/Bell Smith Springs, and Hutchins Creek, to name a few, but alas that seems more appropriate for a later blog post.

New Website

Speaking of blogs, The Friends of the Shawnee have completed a website update! Check it out here: https://www.shawneefriends.org/. Put together for us by Wild Card Creative Co, it incorporates some new features such as a calendar of upcoming events, with links to add our events to your calendar apps. It lists where we will be and when, along with opportunities for you to volunteer and registration links. It also features information about the organization and area, a blog space, where you may be reading this already!

You can access our new Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl merchandise, available now, and the long-awaited Shawnee National Forest specific items will be dropping mid-September in our Square store. https://www.shawneefriends.org/store

Stewardship Celebration

You’ll also find tickets to our annual fall stewardship fundraiser in the square store on our website. Celebrate stewardship at work in the Shawnee National Forest! Join the Friends of the Shawnee National Forest for a fun-filled afternoon of live music, community updates, and local flavor at the beautiful Alto Vineyards. We’ll again have Swamp Tigers join us and we hope to see you there as well. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

Memberships and merchandise will also be available that night, in addition to delicious food and award-winning wine available from Alto Vineyards. Upon entry, members will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a premium gift basket. We’ll be offering a 10% discount off merchandise for members that day.

We also hope to again have a successful silent auction. If you have an item you’d like to donate, please reach out to us at friendsoftheshawnee@gmail.com.

Your ticket purchase directly funds trail maintenance, volunteer programs, and conservation advocacy across the Shawnee National Forest. Let’s celebrate our forest together!

Membership updates

Every Friends member will be receiving a new Friends Member decal in the mail soon. Additional stickers are available for purchase. We hope you spread the word about your commitment to helping the preservation and conservation efforts in the Shawnee. Individual memberships are staying the same, with some added donation levels. We are also creating new membership tiers for groups such as; families, non-profit partners and corporate sponsors.

Interested in learning more? Please visit: https://www.shawneefriends.org/join

As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, membership and donations are tax deductible.

As always, we appreciate your participation; supporting and preserving 289,000 acres of bluffs, wilderness, and wonder – through stewardship, education and people like you for generations to come.

Stewardship at work

Spring and summer were busy months for the Friends organization. We co-hosted 4 trash blasts, 2 non-native invasive species pulls, and the annual kids fishing derby amidst multiple other projects.

Trash blasts started out the 2026 stewardship season at Iron Furnace, March 6^th; where we collected a lawn mower, too many tires, and household garbage. April 3^rd volunteers collected 203 pounds of trash from Grantsburg Swamp. May 1^st, we worked at Ripple Hollow removing 674 pounds of litter, including tires, a tv, and Dutchman Lake wrapped up the spring events on June 5^th, collecting 107 pounds of trash.

The garlic mustard pulls collected over 350 pounds of invasive plant material to be properly disposed of, preventing further infestation in the forest.

Stewardship

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Summer 2026 Newsletter​

Leave things better on the Shawnee.

Summer 2026 Newsletter