40 years on, Oaken Acres has become third largest wildlife center in Illinois

SYCAMORE – Coyotes, owls, an orphaned beaver and others are being given a second chance at life thanks to a wildlife rescue service that has called DeKalb County home since 1984.

Kathy Stelford founded Oaken Acres Wildlife Center, 12140 Aldrich Road, Sycamore, 40 years ago because she believes every life matters, no matter how they’re classified in the animal kingdom. Now, she’s celebrating helping nearly 30,000 animals over the past four decades.

Stelford said the wildlife refuge expanded in 2019 into a two-story, about 3,000-square-foot rehabilitation center that was partially funded through a board member’s bequest, community fundraising and a grant for equipment from the DeKalb County Community Foundation. That expansion and other additions have made the refuge the third-largest wildlife rehab center in Illinois, but Stelford said she didn’t plan that when she started the nonprofit.

“[The expansion was] not by design but by demand for these services,” she said. “Its started in 1984 with 20 patients and we expect to admit almost 2,000 this year. Sometimes I can’t even believe it.”

”I started volunteering here, and when I got the internship, I don’t know I just fell in love with it. It’s very rewarding.”

—  Megan Renwick

Various species of birds, deer and raccoons are all cared for at Oaken Acres. Many of them come from Chicago suburbs.

Director of Operations Sandy Woltman said the 2019 expansion has allowed the wildlife center to grow in a variety of ways.

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An orphaned opossum joey isn't too happy about being woken up Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at Oaken Acres Wildlife Center in Sycamore. Oaken Acres is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. (Mark Busch)

“We’ve been able to increase our intake significantly, from about 450 animals to over 1,700 last year, which we would not be able to do in the old building,” Woltman said. “It also allowed us to increase the number of interns and volunteers.”

Megan Renwick, who started at Oaken Acres as an intern three years ago and has since become a supervisor at the wildlife center, said she loves her job.

“I started volunteering just because I knew I was interested in animal stuff, but I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do,” Renwick said while holding a raccoon. ”I started volunteering here, and when I got the internship, I just fell in love with it. It’s very rewarding.”

Seeking to accommodate and care for all types of animals, the wildlife center recently expanded again by adding new, separate spaces for owls and coyotes. A year-round beaver pond is under construction on the property for Wally, the center’s resident beaver.

Orphaned Wally is being cared for by the refuge’s staff until summer 2025, when she’s old enough to be released into the wild, Woltman said.

“They’re very aquatic and in their water all the time, and they’re also very dirty because they defecate and all that in their water,” Woltman said. “There’s a large concrete pond being built for her. It’ll have a filtration system, and we’ll be able to keep it open for the winter. Last year, she was housed in a smaller space with a smaller water source. This year, she’ll be able to maintain in the pond. It’ll be better for her, better for us, because cleaning is a nightmare with these guys.”

The organization has expanded to 33 acres over the past four decades and has fostered a passionate basis of supporters and donors.

Out of all of the organizations that participated 2024 Give DeKalb County – an annual DeKalb County Community Foundation fundraising event – Oaken Acres raised the fifth most, $82,847, from 325 donors, according to the event’s leaderboard.

“We don’t have media, we don’t have marketing, we don’t have an accounting department or anything like that, so it makes me really proud when I see things like that Give DeKalb County,” Stelford said. “OK, we finished fifth. We didn’t finish first. Every organization above us, though, has staff that do all that. So our donors are really invested in our success, and that makes us really happy.”