Specialties
TreeHouse Wildlife Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured or orphaned native wildlife. We provide care for birds of prey, waterfowl, reptiles, and both small and large mammals native to Illinois. We currently admit about 750 animals annually into our hospital with the number rising every year. TreeHouse also works as an environmental education center, providing information on our native species through tours and programs with the help of our non-releasable education animals. We also provide educational programming off-site at schools or events.
TreeHouse Wildlife Center is situated on 8 1/2 peaceful acres between Alton and Grafton, IL in the quiet town of Dow. We are licensed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
History
Established in 1979.
From the endangered Prairie Chicken to Golden Eagles, to tiny orphaned opossums and a Jaguarundi, TreeHouse Wildlife Center has seen it all. As a concept, TreeHouse first appeared to co-founder Adele T. Moore and Richard H. Evans, DVM in the form of an injured adult cottontail rabbit sitting in the middle of Milton Hill Road in Alton, Illinois in 1972. Despite their lack of knowledge or experience in wildlife rehab, the rabbit recovered his sight, his leg and his skin healed. Upon seeing the rabbit recover and scamper away into some underbrush nearby, Adele was hooked. Realizing that there were no places available to take and care for these creatures, she and Richard decided then and there that this is what they wanted to do. TreeHouse was first established in Brighton, IL in 1979 with several outdoor enclosures. TreeHouse soon outgrew the location and moved to its current location in Dow, IL in 2010 where it continues to grow and service the local community.
Meet the Manager: Rachael H.
Rachael Heaton is the current Director of Operations at TreeHouse Wildlife Center. She has a degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Environment with a focus on wildlife from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Rachael was first introduced to wildlife rehabilitation by her grandmother who would care for small orphaned mammals out of her home. Her own career started when she started volunteering at the Wildlife Rescue Center in Missouri in 2011. She also interned at the Endangered Wolf Center and did an internship in South Africa focused on studying the movements of large carnivores. In early 2012, she signed up to volunteer at TreeHouse Wildlife Center and for a time, volunteered at both TreeHouse and Wildlife Rescue on the weekends. That summer, TreeHouse hired her as a weekend assistant and then, later in the fall, she was promoted to rehabilitation manager. In 2016, with the retirement of TreeHouse founder Adele Moore, Rachael was then promoted to the Director of Operations.