Freeman Kame – Meagher Forest Preserve is located along the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) and is managed by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. Its landscape was shaped by the glaciers during the ice ages.
We began monitoring Freeman Kame – Meagher Forest Preserve in 2024 and detected:
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- 8 amphibian species- Central Newts, Tiger Salamanders, Boreal Chorus Frogs, Green Frogs, Bullfrogs, Northern Leopard Frogs, Gray Treefrogs, American Toads
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Juvenile Blanding’s Turtle 6 reptile species – Blanding’s Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, and Painted turtle, Dekay’s Browsnake, Common Gartersnake, and Milksnake
- 7 species of bat – Big Brown, Eastern Red Bat, Silver-haired, Little Brown, Evening, and Tri-colored
- 8 species of bees, including the SGCN Half-Black Bumblebeee, with wild bergamot being the plant in 61% of bumblebee observations
- 58 species of birds, including 10 SGCNs. Red-winged
Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Blue Jays, and Canada Geese dominated the bird observations - 17 species of butterfly
- 11 species of dragonflies dominated by white-faced meadowhawks
- 3 fish species in the small unnamed stream- Brook Stickleback, Central Mudminnow, and Green Sunfish
- 16 species of Papaipema moth including several SGCN, Veronia Borer, Ironweed Borer, and Rigid Sunflower Borer
- We did not survey mussels due to high silt, low water quality, and no shells present
Report Citation: Rahlin, Anastasia A., Jennifer M. Mui, K.C. Carter, Katrina A. Cotten, Sarah A. Douglass, Ethan J. Kessler, Hugo Y. Ruellen, Claire E. Dietrich, Janet L. Jarvis, and Michael J. Dreslik. 2024. Biological Monitoring along the I-90 Corridor through Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Boone, and Winnebago Counties in 2024. Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report 2024 (23).