By Holly Hudson, Senior Aquatic Biologist, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning The 31 square mile Mill Creek watershed includes portions of four municipalities (Batavia, Campton Hills, Geneva, and St. Charles) and five townships (Batavia, Blackberry, Campton, Geneva, and St. Charles. The primary land uses in the watershed are agriculture (30%), residential (26%), and open space … Read more
By Art Malm, FOTFR Board Member Will the river stop flowing altogether in dry years if the low head dams like the one at Carpentersville are removed? “I remember back in the 60’s when we walked across the top of the Carpentersville dam and it was dry”. This was the memory of a gentleman who … Read more
By Gary Swick Personally, I love living in a region that has distinct seasons. Walking ankle to waist deep in a stream on a hot summer day is always a refreshing experience, and something my children always loved. On a calm fall day, gliding in a kayak or canoe on the Fox River is incredibly … Read more
By Jack MacRae The nighthawks are dining. They appear at dusk in our October skies, swooping, darting and snatching bugs in their big mouths. As neotropical migrants, nighthawks are on their way to Argentina where they’ll hang with the gauchos for the winter. Common nighthawks are slim, medium sized birds with big black eyes, long wings and short legs. Their … Read more
By Art Malm, FOTFR Board Member Maybe the first question asked by almost anyone considering dam removal is “what will it look like?”. There aren’t many people left in the Fox Valley who remember what the Fox looked like before the dams were built. Doubtful their grandparents did either. The best way to know what … Read more
By Gary Swick It’s back-to-school season for Friends of the Fox River (FOFR) and our team of educators is geared up to teach more than two thousand students how to collect water quality data in their schools’ local streams. Our “Watershed Watchdogs” education program is composed of lessons in traditional topics like local geography, natural … Read more
By Jack MacRae 20th century scientific research into Kindchenschema showed that humans consider baby animals as inherently cute. It has something to do with the size and proportion of their facial features. I think this idea is especially valid with new born northern red belly snakes. I mean, OMG, they’re totes adorbs. When they emerge from … Read more
Get your holiday shopping done early with a beer in your hand, without an internet connection. The ceremony of gift giving is very important in many cultures as a demonstration of respect. According to author Gary Chapman in his book “The Five Love Languages” gift giving is also essential in intimate relationships. In our local … Read more
By Jack MacRae and Gary Mechanic Rolling in the River Their name might make them sound like they’re Mick Jagger groupies, but common stonerollers are actually local minnows named for their nest construction technique. Beginning in the first several weeks of spring as Fox River tributaries warm into the 50-degree range, and continuing into mid-summer, … Read more
There are currently 14 species of map turtles, all found only in North America. Two species of map turtle are found in the secluded, slow moving backwaters of the Fox River; the northern map turtle Graptemys geographica, and the false map turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica. Superficially similar to others of their genus (sleek, cute and relatively small), map turtles … Read more
