Springfield, IL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered zones
- Zones A through E of Lake Springfield
- Prohibited acts
- Trap, kill, wound, or molest birds/nests
- Firearms
- Banned in zones A-E except police
- Exception
- General manager may authorize pest control
- Penalty
- $50-$750 fine, § 96.999
- Enforcement
- Utility park conservationists, no arrest power
Summary
On the Lake Springfield watershed, § 96.034 makes it unlawful to trap, catch, kill, wound, or molest any bird, including taking eggs or robbing nests, across zones A through E, the reservoir, its 200-foot shoreline buffer, and roughly a quarter mile of surrounding city-owned land. Firearms are also banned in those zones except for police officers, though the general manager of public utilities can authorize pest control.
No person shall trap, catch, or kill or wound, or attempt to trap, catch, kill, or wound any bird or animal, or take any bird egg or molest or rob any nest of any bird or animal or cruelly treat any bird or animal in zones A, B, C, D, or E. No person shall fire or discharge any firearm of any description within the limits of zones A, B, C, D, or E except police officers in the performance of their duties. The general manager of public utilities may permit or authorize any person to use firearms, traps, or other means to destroy any predatory or otherwise undesirable animal, bird, or aquatic life.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 82).
Full Breakdown
034, in Article I of Chapter 96, bans trapping, catching, killing, wounding, or attempting to do any of those things to any bird or animal in zones A through E, and separately bans taking a bird egg or molesting or robbing a nest, or cruelly treating any bird or animal, anywhere in those same zones. 001, cover the working waterworks and its buffer: Zone A is the 1,000-foot radius around the water intake; Zone B is within 200 feet of the shoreline and doubles as a 'No Wake' boating area; Zone C is the open reservoir north of Lindsay Bridge more than 200 feet from shore; Zone D is the rest of the reservoir; and Zone E is all city-owned land in the drainage area, or within a quarter mile of it, that isn't flooded by the reservoir, plus public highways and railroad rights-of-way crossing that city land.
The same section bars discharging any firearm in zones A through E, with a carve-out only for police officers performing their duties. The general manager of public utilities can authorize firearms, traps, or other means to destroy predatory or otherwise undesirable animals, birds, or aquatic life when needed. 007, who can inspect and cite violations under this chapter, though they don't carry police powers of arrest, search, or seizure.
Violations & Fines
Trapping, killing, or molesting birds, robbing nests, or firing a weapon in zones A through E violates § 96.034 and falls under the Chapter 96 penalty in § 96.999: a fine of $50 to $750, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense. Fines go toward policing and maintaining the reservoir zones, and a violator's boat or craft license can also be suspended for 30 days to a year at the general manager's discretion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to disturb birds at Lake Springfield?
Can I carry or shoot a firearm near Lake Springfield?
What's the penalty for violating the bird protection rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Springfield
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