Meet Jen Chrostowski, lifelong resident of the Fox River Valley, recently garnering hero status right in her own backyard. Jen and her family live in unincorporated Algonquin Shores, a quiet, humble neighborhood on the east bank of the river hugging the northernmost border of Kane County. Both Jen and her husband Jeremy grew up on … Read more
What is Watershed-based Plan? (All blue highlights are clickable links) A watershed-based plan is a multi-objective, stakeholder-driven plan for water resources planning and management applied to the land area of the watershed of interest. Watershed-based plans provide both general and specific recommendations and actions that communities, businesses, and residents can take toward the protection, restoration, … Read more
I’ve fished the lower Fox River by boat for the last 45 years. During that time, I’ve caught a lot of fish and seen a lot of neat things along the river. A recent hike at the Hoover Forest Preserve reminded me of one of my favorite things to do while fishing: observing the birds … Read more
It has been said that folks in Illinois don’t complain about the weather for only two of the twelve months, those being June and September. Now behind us is the excitement of the ephemeral blooms on woodland forest floors, the brief visits of migrating bird travelers, and the challenges of big swings in unpredictable weather. … Read more
This month’s featured Friend of the Fox River (FOTFR) is a place – Rosie O’Hare’s Public House at 702 Water Street in East Dundee. Owned by Jamie and Gary Mueller for the past 11 years, Rosie’s (as locals know it) is a fun, friendly neighborhood place to enjoy a meal or drink in the bar … Read more
I’m writing this column on the evening of the warmest day of the year so far, where the temperatures peaked in the low 80s after having snowed earlier in the week. A strong south wind brought these warm, nearly tropical, temperatures to the Fox River Valley. Those same strong south winds have also brought up … Read more
For over 30 years, Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) has been building a watershed of caretakers. Part of that effort is defining the term watershed (as a drainage area) and delivering this concept as a management strategy. That path has been marked by a few watershed moments; a watershed moment is a turning point, … Read more
Meet Richard Wilson, Friend of the Fox River and Friend to all of Earth’s inhabitants. Richard is spearheading a brand new Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) service: fishing line removal and disposal from snags between West Dundee and Elgin. Richard has engineered and assembled all of the tools and equipment needed to remove and properly … Read more
On one recent cloudy, cold and blustery Friday morning, I received a text from a friend telling me that there was a flock of pelicans on the Fox River near the observation platform overlooking the Fox River in the far northeastern corner of the Hoover Forest Preserve in Yorkville, Illinois. Having the day off, I … Read more
Possibly and probably the most important single act of being a better Friend to the Fox River, is to introduce an Oak tree to the watershed. No, that is not an April Fool’s joke. Nor is it a joke that Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is offering you an oak tree (or a couple) … Read more