Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate in Streams and Springs of Forested Fen Forest Preserve, Kane County, Illinois, Final Report

Fox River Forested Fen Forest Preserve, Kane County, near Elgin, Illinois, is a new acquisition of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County and a new Illinois nature preserve. Because of its geographical proximity and plant community similarity to Trout Park Nature Preserve, Forested Fen probably has a similar aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna to that of Trout Park. Quantitative and qualitative sampling was conducted in April and May 2015 to answer this question. Several coldwater aquatic macroinvertebrates were found to inhabit the Forest Fen stream. The south and north branches of the stream differed markedly in from each other in terms of abundance, total taxa richness, and EPT (sensitive insect) richness, the north branch being the better of the two. Less than half of the historical EPT richness (most sensitive of aquatic insects) reported from Trout Park was present in Forested Fen. Forest Fen compare better to two other regional springbrook systems. Suggested management includes replanting of the area in white cedar to increase resistance to water temperature changes, and removal of the artificial pond that increases water temperature and disrupts dispersal routes.