Kickapoo State Recreation Area
Vermillion County, Illinois
Plants and Wildlife
Bird Checklist for Kickapoo State Recreation Area.pdfIn the table below:
Click on the Plant, Bird, Reptile and Amphibian, Insect and Arachnid, and Mammal tabs at the bottom of the table to scroll through the lists.
These lists are based on species identified during site visits and sightings submitted using the link in the sub-bullet point below. Submitted species are added to the table as time allows.
Click here if you would like to submit records of plants or wildlife you have seen at this location.
Bloom periods are based on those provided by the Illinois Plants Database.
About this natural area:
Kickapoo State Recreation Area is a 2,842 acre public area consisting of upland and bottomland forest, ponds, and the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River (a federal and state designated Scenic River). A large portion of Kickapoo SRA consists of reclaimed coal mines that had been active prior to 1939. The area offers the following activities:
Flora and wildlife watching
Boating
Camping
Canoeing
Dog training
Equestrian trails
Fishing
Hiking
Hunting
Mountain bike trails
SCUBA diving
Click the following link to visit the official Kickapoo State Recreation Area website for more information: Kickapoo State Recreation Area.
Amenities:
Restrooms - some are only open seasonally.
Established hiking, running, and horse trails - some handicap accessible
Playgrounds
Concession stand - open seasonally.
Picnic shelters
Camping areas
Off road parking
Canoe, kayak, and tube rental
Cross-country skiing, sledding, ice fishing and ice skating become popular activities at Kickapoo.
Literature and links:
Click here to view a Google Scholar search for additional literature using the pre-filled search terms of "Kickapoo State Recreation Area" or "Kickapoo State Park" and "Illinois."
Adamovicz, L., Allender, M. C., Archer, G., Rzadkowska, M., Boers, K., Phillips, C., ... & Chu, C. (2018). Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). PloS one, 13(4), e0195617.
Allen, M. R., VanDyke, J. N., & Cáceres, C. E. (2011). Metacommunity assembly and sorting in newly formed lake communities. Ecology, 92(2), 269-275.
Benjamin, R. K. (1956). A check-list of Illinois Myxomycetes. Trans. Illinois Acad. Sci., 49, 63-68.
Bertram, C. R., & Cāceres, C. E. (2009, August). PS 66-100: Life history effects of the bacterial parasite Spirobacillus cienkowskii on Daphnia pulicaria (Crustacea: cladocera). In The 94th ESA Annual Meeting.
Boers, K. A. Y. L. A., Leister, K. A. T. I. E., Byrd, J. O. H. N., Band, M. A. R. K., Phillips, C. A., & Allender, M. C. (2017). Capture effort, rate, demographics, and potential for disease transmission in wild eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) captured through canine directed searches. Herpetol Rev, 48(2), 300-304.
Brigham, W. U., & Sanderson, M. W. (1972). A new species of Haliplus from Illinois and South Dakota (Coleoptera: Haliplidae). Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science, 65, 17-22.
Brigham, W. U., & Sanderson, M. W. (1973). Haliplus variomaculatus, a new species from east-central Illinois (Coleoptera: Haliplidae). The Coleopterists' Bulletin, 157-163.
Callahan, S. A. (2021). Migration phenology and fertility of imperiled Illinois salamander (Ambystoma) species (Doctoral dissertation).
Crawford, J. A., Kuhns, A. R., & Meyer, M. J. (2015). Population ecology of the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) in east-central Illinois. Journal of North American Herpetology, 17-21.
Frankie, W. T. (2005). Guide to the geology of the Kickapoo State Park and surrounding area, Vermilion County, Illinois. Field trip guidebook 2005A.
Gower, S. T. (2008). Are horses responsible for introducing non-native plants along forest trails in the eastern United States?. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(5), 997-1003.
Karr, J. R. (1968). Habitat and avian diversity on strip-mined land in east-central Illinois. The Condor, 70(4), 348-357.
Kuhns, A. R., Low, K. M., Crawford, J. A., Peterman, W. E., & Phillips, C. A. (2019). Distribution, Abundance and Recruitment of Amphibian Species in Greatest Need of Conservation in the Vermilion River Conservation Opportunity Area. Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Wildlife Grant 108-R-1.
Lyman, K. J. (1988). The Bryophytes of Kickapoo State Park, Vermilion County, Illinois.
Mangum, B. D. (1956). A Study of the Natural Features and Existing Recreation Facilities of Kickapoo State Park and Recommendations for Future Development of the Area (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Morris, M. A. (1974). An Illinois record for a triploid species of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology, 8(3), 255-256.
Morris, M. A., & Brandon, R. A. (1984). Gynogenesis and hybridization between Ambystoma platineum and Ambystoma texanum in Illinois. Copeia, 324-337.
Morris, M. A., & FieldStation, C. I. (1991). Breeding biology and larval life history of four species of Ambystoma (Amphibia: Caudata) in east-central Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin, 34, 402.
Pacey, D., & Lukehart, J. (1999). Kickapoo State Park. Department of Geography-Geology, Illinois State University.
Phillips, C. A., Spolsky, C. M., & Uzzell, T. (1991). Final Report for Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund Project; Reproduction, Survival and Genetic Constitution of the Polyploid Mole Salamanders of Kickapoo State Park.
Phillips, C. A., Uzzell, T., Spolsky, C. M., Serb, J. M., Szafoni, R. E., & Pollowy, T. R. (1997). Persistent high levels of tetraploidy in salamanders of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology, 530-535.
Phillips, C. A., Dreslik, M. J., Johnson, J. R., & Petzing, J. E. (2001). Application of population estimation to pond breeding salamanders. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 94, 111-118.
Rayl, J. M., Adamovicz, L., Stern, A. W., Vieson, M. D., Phillips, C. A., Kelly, M., ... & Allender, M. C. (2020). Mortality investigation of monitored eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina carolina) in central illinois, usa, from 2016–18. The Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 56(2), 306-315.
Readel, A. M., & Phillips, C. A. (2006). A Survey Of The Reptiles And Amphibians Of Kickapoo State Park And The Middle Fork State Fish And Wildlife Area (MFSFWA).
Readel, A. M., & Phillips, C. A. (2008). A survey of aquatic turtles at Kickapoo State Park and Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area (MFSFWA). Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 101(1-2), 107-113.
Smith, P. W. (1968). An assessment of changes in the fish fauna of two Illinois rivers and its bearing on their future. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 61(1), 31-45.
Sutton, N. M., & O’dwyer, J. P. (2018). Born to run? Quantifying the balance of prior bias and new information in prey escape decisions. The American Naturalist, 192(3), 321-331.
The Keep Eastern Illinois University Institutional Repository Herbarium Specimens keyword "Kickapoo".
Tiemann, J. S. (2008). Distribution and life history characteristics of the state-endangered bluebreast darter Etheostoma camurum (Cope) in Illinois. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 101(3), 235-246.
Trotter, J. E. (1965). Some factors influencing attendance at Illinois State Parks. Journal of Geography, 64(1), 23-31.
Wiedman, J. A. (1975). Aquatic Plant Communities of Vermilion County, Illinois.