Wildlife is abundant

About seventy species of fish live in the Chicago River, including yellow perch, bluegills, and catfish. Beaver, mink, mudpuppies, snapping turtles, dragonfly larvae, crayfish, and freshwater mussels do, too.

Birds in the watershed include the endangered black crowned night heron, bald eagles, kingfishers, sandhill cranes, bobolinks, owls, wild turkeys, and kestrels.

Coyote, deer, fox, skunks, smooth green snakes, and bats roam the prairies and wooded areas. Salamanders, bullfrogs, box turtles, and water snakes hide in the wet areas near the river.