Research and Restoration
The land adjacent to the Calumet-Sag Channel provides a great directional route for animal migration. Because Lake Katherine is on this route, it hosts a variety of creatures as they pass through during the spring and fall. Some of the rarer migrants spotted at Lake Katherine include the bald eagle, osprey, white pelican, and the black billed magpie.

Permanent mammals of the Lake Katherine Nature Preserve include coyote, fox, deer, beaver, muskrat, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and chipmunks. Some nesting birds include the spotted sandpiper, hooded merganser, wood duck, eastern phoebe, brown creeper, tree swallow, and indigo bunting.

Various research projects including the monitoring of the health and diversity of wildlife are ongoing at the preserve. Winter bird counts and summer nesting censuses are taken each year. Habitat enhancement projects include the installation of wood duck, blue bird, and kestrel houses. Another project is the placement of clay tubes into the cliffs on the banks of the Calumet-Sag Channel to encourage the nesting of bank swallows.