Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is dedicated to building a watershed community of caretakers. This goal involves educating the public and empowering them to advocate for the health of their community. One of our major challenges is that the Fox River Watershed spans 200 miles, crosses a state line, and includes 15 counties and … Read more
As the display of fall foliage approaches, it is a good time to enjoy the outdoors and be a Better Friend to the Fox River Watershed. Vote YES Voting YES on your county’s referendum will help pass action that will significantly improve natural resource management and opportunities to enjoy the benefits on public lands. Here … Read more
It’s Our Fox River Day 2024 demonstrated that protecting our local natural resources is important to many of us, regardless of our political, religious, or cultural affiliations. On November 5th, many Americans will head to the polls with strong connections to a certain political party and possibly with influence by their individual religious and/or cultural … Read more
In a time of dividing partisanship, what can bring people aligning with different political parties, religious beliefs, and cultures together? The answer is the Fox River; it unites us. Over 1 million people call the Fox River Watershed home. A third of those use it for drinking water, and 100 municipalities use it to dispose … Read more
… or A Face Only a Mother Could Love This month’s Reflections on the Fox topic literally kind of flew into my mind one day a couple of weeks ago when I visited the Fox River observation platform at the Hoover Forest Preserve in Yorkville. This spot is one of my favorites for viewing all … Read more
It’s time for the Carpentersville Dam’s retirement to be celebrated. It retired years ago when it no longer worked to move water into the race areas. The dam was constructed to provide mechanical power and later ice. They were very important jobs for local industrial development, but electricity and refrigeration have rendered them obsolete. The Carpentersville … Read more
Each of us has our own way of interacting with the Fox River – fishing, hiking, picnicking, boating, biking, and even swimming. My two favorite ways happen to be paddling and photographing. I’d like to share with you some of the reasons I enjoy those activities so much. First of all, why do I choose … Read more
The night of Sunday, August 11 and very early morning of Monday, August 12 was the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower. It’s when the Earth passes through the densest remnant of the tail of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and recurs every year in mid-August. As I often do during various meteor showers throughout the … Read more
An Informed Public Voice Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is an advocacy organization that relies on public education to build a watershed community of caretakers. We live in an era of rampant misinformation. As demonstrated on our own social media posts, people can comment negatively as experts without evidence for their fears and claims. … Read more
Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is the leader in providing watershed experiences for children. Since mid-April, FOTFR has delivered our services to over 2500 youth. The standard format is hosting students in their local streams to collect physical, chemical, and biological data. It is real science with a real purpose. But FOTFR meets residents … Read more