Highlights and News

Help Friends – Drink Beer?

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How on Earth does having a beer party help Friends of the Fox River clean up the river?!? Friends of the Fox River President Gary Swick explains: “Our annual fundraiser is a reminder that without protecting the Fox River we’d lose many of the things we enjoy and take for granted, including recreation on the … Read more

A Storm Drain Is Not a Garbage Disposal

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From our President, Gary Swick ~ That hole in the street with the metal grate that is next to the curb is a “storm drain.” Its intended purpose is to prevent flooding in streets during storm events. It must not be used as a disposal of anything. Most manufactured now are stamped with “Dump No Waste, Drains to … Read more

Proposed Toll Bridge – REFERENDUM Passed!

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Friends of the Fox River is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, April 13, the citizens of Dundee Township voted to add a referendum to future ballots regarding the proposed Longmeadow Toll Bridge. The bridge proposed to cross the Fox River for the Long Meadow Parkway could cause a severe disruption and destruction of habitat. It … Read more

The Year of the Smallmouth Bass by Pat Kirmse

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A warm March rain raised the temperature of the Fox River to 47 degrees and the 15″ Smallmouth Bass started to stir. She was 5 years old and had survived another Illinois winter, the coldest and snowiest in her life. Fortunately there were no heavy midwinter rains that would have blown her out of her … Read more

Victory for the Watershed as Lawsuit Is Dropped!

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Contacts: Jan Strasma, Citizens Against the Sprawlway 630-863-6669 Dave Jakubiak, Environmental Law & Policy Center 312-795-3713 Gary Swick, Friends of the Fox River 815-370-0026 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWS PRAIRIE PARKWAY APPROVAL, ENDING FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE HIGHWAY PROJECT The federal government has rescinded its approval of the proposed Prairie Parkway which would connect I-80 and I-88 in Kane, … Read more

Cleaning the Fox River

Cheerleaders Meet the Fox River

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Mud, garbage, tires, hot and dirty—not what you usually think of when you think of High School Cheerleaders. On Sunday, July 29th at Fox River Shores Forest Preserve in Carpentersville, 30 Dundee Crown Varsity and Junior Varsity cheerleaders used canoes and went on foot to collect the trash in about 3 hours on a very warm … Read more

Prairie Parkway Project Information

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Various routing alternatives for the proposed Prairie Parkway connecting I-88 and I-80 are currently under consideration by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The Friends of the Fox River has a vested interest in evaluating the potential impact that construction of such a freeway may have on the streams in the Fox watershed on or … Read more

Why Volunteering Monitoring Data Matters

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By Cindy Skrukrud Clean Water Advocate, Sierra Club (Illinois Chapter) The Fox River Study Group, a multi-stakeholder group (Friends of the Fox River, Sierra Club, Fox River (Elgin area) and Fox Metro (Aurora area) water reclamation districts, Kane County, Fox River towns, Fox River Ecosystem Partnership, Illinois EPA) has engaged the Illinois State Water Survey … Read more