by Jack MacRae During the summer of 1969, a blues musician from the swamps of Louisiana named Tony Joe White had monster hit. Polk Salad Annie spent 3 months on the Billboard Hot Top 100 Chart, peaking at #8. The song told of Annie, a “wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin’ woman” who made the alligators look … Read more
by Gary Swick, FOFR President Life is a process of transformations. All organisms go through stages that are ultimately driven by sex and conclude in death. Understanding this can help us to cope with the events of our lives. Our lives, our endeavors, and the river, all have seasons. This is the season of new … Read more
by Gary Swick As President, I annually attend River Network’s national River Rally. It is an opportunity to network, learn about advancements, discuss issues, and have fun with river advocates from every state and a few other continents. It’s always a wonderful opportunity for me to acquire resources that I can bring back to help … Read more
Fox Snakes in the Fox Valley by Jack MacRae Fox snakes hatch hungry. During the summer, baby mini-constrictors use their egg tooth to cut a slit from inside their egg. After emerging, they’ll shed once before heading off to hunt for newborn rodents. They grow fast and furious (to a length of 40 inches in … Read more
Article written for the April 2017 “Bravo Magazine” by Dean Tripp Our Fox By its very nature a river belongs to more than one people, place and time. Our Fox is no exception. The water flowing into and out of it is a resource we can’t create or destroy; we can only attempt to manage … Read more
This is the first article in a new regular “Meet Your Neighbors” column of our newsletter. Each issue will bring you a short story about one of the other species with whom we share our ecosystem. And of course, how could we not start with the Fox! This piece is by Jack MacRae, retired DuPage … Read more
When Illinois became a state in 1818, 8 million acres of wetlands or 23% of the state’s land area provided critical habitat for a wide variety of mammals, birds, fish, mussels, amphibians, and insects. Today only 1.2 million acres remain. 90% of Illinois’ wetlands have been destroyed! The new administration’s attempt to roll back the … Read more
by Gary Swick- I hear folks are anxious to get started on their yard maintenance. This is a season of increased threats to local water quality from poor yard management decisions. Many residential properties are close to a street drain that goes directly to a local stream or the Fox River without any treatment. When … Read more
by Gary Swick Since the beginning of Friends of the Fox River, students have played a lead role in water quality protection. Citizen scientists have voluntarily collected data from over 100 monitoring sites throughout the watershed. In 1999, the Fox River Monitoring Network was established which through federal, state, and county funding. The network grew … Read more
No clean water, no good beer. By Eric Pepa It’s not just a cute tag line; it really is a profound statement We do take clean water for granted, especially here near the great lakes, where fresh water is abundant. But in few arenas is water quality more important than in the brewing of beer. … Read more