Busy Summer for Wildlife Conservation for the Kane County Forest Preserve

This summer was eventful for the Forest Preserve District’s wildlife research and conservation teams. A staff member captured video of a River Otter, believed to be the first footage of an otter in its natural habitat in Kane County. The exact location was kept confidential to protect the animal, but the video adds to the District’s growing collection of conservation documentation. River Otters were removed from Illinois’ endangered species list in 2004 following a successful reintroduction program and are now found in all 102 counties, including Kane County.

Six Blanding’s turtle hatchlings, raised from 2024 eggs, were released—four equipped with radio transmitters to monitor survival. The 2025 hatchlings are now arriving, with about 60 slated for the District’s first large-scale, in-house head-start program.

Snake surveys brought particularly exciting news for reptile conservation. At two survey locations, staff discovered smooth green snake eggs—a rare and promising sign for a species listed as being in greatest need of conservation in Illinois and previously considered for threatened status. The discovery of eggs indicates successful local breeding, a major milestone for biodiversity. Staff also recorded a milk snake in an area where it had never been observed before.

Avian work concluded with 38 American Kestrels banded under the District’s permit, plus nine more in collaboration with Cook County. This included the first partnership with Campton Hills Township for nest box monitoring.

Muirhead Springs has become a birding hotspot thanks to wetland restoration projects, attracting an array of rare visitors including Whooping Cranes, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Black Terns, American Bitterns, Horned Grebes, Phalaropes, Swans, and American White Pelicans. Data from eBird.org show a 91 percent increase in bird diversity in 2023 compared to the period from 2019–2022. The combination of open water, restored wetlands, and intact grasslands has also drawn rare western species such as Say’s Phoebe, as well as Lark Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Longspurs.

Looking ahead, the Kane County Forest Preserve hopes to relocate a small herd of bison to a newly constructed 32-acre enclosure at Burlington Forest Preserve later this year.

Learn more about the work and programs offered by the Kane County Forest Preserve at https://kaneforest.com/​