Coon Creek (Kishwaukee River)

Coon Creek is a 28.1-mile-long (45.2 km)^[1] tributary of the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois.^[2]

Course

Coon Creek flows north from DeKalb County, Illinois into McHenry County.^[3] The stream continues flowing northwest from the DeKalb County-McHenry County line until it empties into the Kishwaukee River in Boone County.^[4] In terms of square miles drained, Coon Creek is the second-largest tributary of the Kishwaukee River, behind only the South Branch Kishwaukee River.^[5]

Description

The DeKalb County and Boone-McHenry County portions of Coon Creek are different in character. While 72% of the watershed, Coon Creek and its tributaries, has had its stream beds channelized (ditched and straightened) only 42% of the Coon's main stem has been channelized.^[4] In McHenry County, Coon Creek still features many of its natural features, such as pools and riffles.^[4] In DeKalb County, further away from the Kishwaukee, the stream has been entirely channelized, only 6% of the Coon's tributaries in this area have not been channelized.^[3] This portion of Coon Creek retains very few of the natural instream characteristics such as pools or riffles.^[3]

Wildlife

The Coon Creek watershed (technically a subwatershed) is home to at least 34 different species of fish. Some of the species found in Coon Creek include bluegill, black crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and northern pike.^[4] The blacknose shiner (Notropis heteropis) is an example of an endangered fish found in the creek.^[4] The creek is also home to two species of reptile, the federally-threatened Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and the snapping turtle.^[4]

Tributaries

Coon Creek has several tributaries. Among them are Harmony Creek, Hampshire Creek, and Burlington Creek.^[4]

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 19, 2011
2. ^ Kishwaukee River Watershed, Watersheds of Illinois - 1996 Fact Sheets, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, 1996, accessed January 22, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Upper Coon Creek Subwatershed Plan, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, accessed January 22, 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Lower Coon Creek Subwatershed Plan, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, accessed January 22, 2011.
5. ^ Piscasaw Creek - Subwatershed plan, Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership, May 2005, p. 3, 8 - 10, accessed January 23, 2011.