The mission of the Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is to preserve, restore, and protect the Fox River’s resources by connecting people with nature through education, research, and advocacy. But today, those values are under attack. Fifty-five years of federal-level environmental protection from the Clean Water Act has resulted in consistent and widespread water quality improvements, leading to improved human health and safety. These protections have come through a very wide variety of supporting work by agencies, municipalities, organizations, and individuals. But, under the current presidential administration, that work is now all being systematically disrupted, inhibited, or even eliminated. Federally, education is being dismantled and defunded, advocacy silenced and retaliated against, restoration reversed with removal of protections on public lands, and research removed from the USEPA (and NASA, NOAA, others). Rebuilding will be very difficult and many of these attacks will result in permanent damage. Environmental professionals, activists, and the general public are at a loss as to how to react.
FOTFR is solution oriented. We have supported contacting legislatures to use the tools of democracy. Recently, politicians in Washington showed us the failure of that process with partisanship and internal threats. We have had faith in the court system to uphold established laws. There, too, we have seen a demonstration of the weakened legal system with pet appointments, appeals, and retaliation. We have relied on the expertise in agency leadership. The current trend is to supplant knowledgeable and experienced personnel with replacements that are neither knowledgeable nor experienced in that position but are qualified through political interest. This is a crisis.
Reacting to the crisis has been a New Business item on the FOTFR’s monthly Board meeting agenda since January. Based upon the current president of the United States’ history of behavior, previous term’s initiatives, and campaign promises, we knew we were in for an assault upon our mission’s guiding words of “protect, restore, and preserve the resources…”
As a board and staff, our monthly discussions have focused on the correct direction and actions we can take to continue to protect, restore and preserve. Directly or as a ripple effect, much of what happens on the federal level impacts the resources that regulate, control, and/or support our work here in the Fox River Watershed. Reductions in staff and funding have impacted our US Wildlife Refuge – Hackmatack, the US Park Service’s National Water Trail System – Fabulous Fox!, Army Corps of Engineers restoration projects, and US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) policies – weakening of the Clean Water Act.
This is a crisis, but we are not going down the drain. Let’s view it in perspective. There are places on the planet where people are in a daily peril from military action and starvation. We’re not there yet. In our own country, the climate chaos has flooded or burned homes, neighborhoods, and communities. It is in those times that resiliency is on display. FEMA aid (also being reduced) may initially help, but the return to some form of normal comes from aid organizations, community members, and one’s own will to move forward. Those of us who are feeling deflated by the environmental threats should not accept the assault. We could do well to take the lesson from others in their local crises; be resilient and forward focused.
Managing a regional resource requires cooperation.The Fox River Watershed is in two states that are relatively strong in environmental protection. The watershed has many agencies, organizations and individuals working every day to protect, restore, and preserve our resources. While we are indeed under attack and are losing ground on matters with federal influence, we remain in control on many other levels. It is maybe more important than ever for us to recognize those things (like the love of the Fox River) that we have in common. As individuals, we may differ on some political hot points, but if you are reading this, you have something in common with all the other readers.
FOTFR will continue to work hard to educate people about protecting our resources, will advocate to protect and preserve,
will continue to engage in restoration actions, and participate
in research that gives us knowledge and experience to
best manage the watershed.
Friends of the Fox River was formed to gather friends to stand as a unified voice in defense against threats to the Fox River Watershed. Now more than ever in the organization’s 35 year history, we need to come together in our watershed and for every watershed in the US to defend what we have been protecting. It is a time to resist the rapid, ill-conceived and systematic attack on water quality and generally all environmental health. Our strength is our unified voice; our weakness is inaction. Specifically, we have been working collaboratively with many other organizations to have a unified voice with sign-on letters in opposition to many threatening initiatives.
Moving forward, let’s find the commonality in others and work to make things better. We will resiliently work through our current condition. FOTFR welcomes volunteers within our organization or to join us during our fall education and cleanup season. Hosting or joining an event for Its Our Fox River Day is a great start to help demonstrate our strength in unity and to welcome in others as caretakers of our watershed community. Visit FOTFR.org and click on the IOFRD tab to explore the possibilities. New events are being added often.