A few months ago, I wrote about tyrant flycatchers, including the Eastern Kingbird and called them the “kings” of the Fox River Valley for their ferocious feeding habits and their generally fierce (for a cute little bird anyhow) behavior. This month, I’m writing about another bird with a “royal” title for many of the same … Read more
Where we live, the Fox River Watershed has been ecologically evolving since the last glacier’s recession 12,000 years ago. The plant and animal species that moved into the region are many times older than that. Our ecosystem had been pretty stable until human settlement 200 years ago. At that point, humans changed the landscape by … Read more
In 2015, October was designated Oak Awareness Month in Illinois, and OAKtober was born. Let’s celebrate! Why celebrate Oaks? Oaks are an exceptional plant genus for a multitude of reasons. Oaks are the genus Quercus derived from the celtic quer, meaning fine and cuez, meaning tree. Here is a short list of benefits: Oaks are … Read more
Largest Watershed Event It’s Our Fox River Day ’22 was a conclusion to the busy summer season. So many folks representing the entire watershed came together to celebrate OUR Fox River. Over 1000 watershed residents, attended one of over 50 events spanning the entire 200 miles of the Fox River. Event data and photos are … Read more
It’s Our Fox River Day 2022 was the largest Fox River watershed celebration event in history! With over 50 different event locations covering the full length from Waukesha, Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois, Friends of the Fox River reached its goal of demonstrating the collaboration of caretaking and offering thanks to the Fox River over its … Read more
Being a person who spends a lot of time outdoors in the woods and fields of the Fox River valley and on the waters of the Fox River itself, I have been privileged to see a lot of amazing wildlife throughout the course of my life. Some of the most thrilling wildlife experiences I have … Read more
Alternative Facts We are in an era of emotional opinions about controversial issues that are often fueled by fear and misinformation. It is important to base our opinions upon reality. So where do we go to gather creditable information? One reliable source can be from historical records. Another can be through analyzing scientifically-generated data. In … Read more
Join Friends of the Fox River and over 1000 Friends on September 17, 2022 for the largest watershed-wide celebration of the year! Thinking Like a Watershed To protect and restore a watershed, we must think like a watershed. It’s Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) is a public demonstration of that concept. Managing a resource that … Read more
With the on-going mission to build a watershed of caretakers, Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) continues to grow their organization and influence on protecting water quality in many ways. To do that takes many different strategies and always trying new things. August has been a very busy month, much of which was new to … Read more
Maybe you have heard of the practice that coal miners used in the pre-modern technology “old days” of mining; they took a canary in a cage with them into the underground mine to detect the presence of deadly gases that would pose a mortal threat to the miners. The theory was that the canary, more … Read more