April is Earth Month and Earth Day is officially on April 22nd.This is the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. The concept is to recognize human dependence upon earth systems and to honor our mother, Earth. In 1970, the developed world was just beginning to realize the impacts of our consumptive culture. Litter was considered a major … Read more
Those of you who have followed my blog here over the years know that I am a passionate fan of Bald Eagles, particularly those nesting in our Fox River Valley. As I write this month’s blog (in late March), we are solidly into the Bald Eagle nesting season in our area. Most eagles laid their … Read more
Founder of Friends of the Fox River, Pat Reese, emphasized that protecting the Fox River would take a watershed approach. This implies addressing issues as a region undivided by municipal boundaries. The annual Fox River Summit is a major step in that direction. The collaborative effort to develop the bi-state Fabulous Fox Water Trail (FFWT) … Read more
In the middle of the Friends of the Fox River’s (FOTFR) mission statement is “connecting people to nature.” Because FOTFR is in the business of building a watershed community of caretakers, the foundation of any Friends group is to develop those supporters/caretakers. Consequently, FOTFR invests in educational experiences to nurture connections between members of the … Read more
For thousands of years, humans have been able to live sustainably without technological aids. To do this required an intimate understanding of the local natural systems, probably much trial and error, and the passage of information from one generation to the next. Reverence and gratitude for the resources provided, the strong incentive to find food … Read more
Megaloptera, Trichoptera, Plecoptera… unless you’re a fly fisher, ecologist, or student who has taken part in our stream field experience, these words may sound like a foreign language. In fact, these are the Greek-based scientific names given to groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates. And if that made things even more confusing, aquatic macroinvertebrates are small, but … Read more
With apologies to Norman McClean and his A River Runs Through It, my column this month is going to be an autobiographical story consisting of several vignettes taken from my life experiences that illustrate what a critical role the Fox River has played in many aspects of my life over the years. I was inspired … Read more
The State of the Fox River 2025 is an annual presentation delivered in January to the public by Friends of the Fox River. It reflects the past year’s impactful activities, celebrates achievements, notifies of challenges, and guides actions to consider for the year ahead. For this article, it is presented as a list of significant … Read more
The Fox has been released and we have seen her early splendor. The fifth Friends of the Fox River Watershed Weekly this month comes at a perfect time for an update on Carpenter Dam, with an early look at the Fox River and public lands restored. It is also time for an urgent appeal. The … Read more
Join us at the next level of Being a Better Friend. Thank you again to all our Friends who offered generous financial support at the end of the year. That has given us some great momentum going into 2025. We intend to maintain all of our services and programming with plans to continue to grow. … Read more