It’s Our Fox River Day (IOFRD 24)

It’s Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) is held each year on the third Saturday of September. Individuals and groups organize events to celebrate, protect and restore the health of the Fox River.

The Fox River “watershed” is the total land area that drains into the Fox River; it encompasses over 2500 square miles and serves over 1 million residents. Protecting a watershed requires thinking and acting as a watershed. It’s Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) is the largest demonstration of Fox River watershed-wide protective and celebratory action.

The Fox River Watershed map below highlights events that happened in 2023 across the 200-mile span of the river.

To see all 2024 IOFRD events, the map must be in full screen mode.

Click the icon in the top left corner to open the index. Zoom in to see where events were hosted. Click on a logo to see event details.

Spring Grove	https://www.springgrovevillage.com
McHenry	https://cityofmchenry.org
Crystal Lake	https://www.crystallake.org
Carpentersville	https://www.cville.org
South Elgin	https://www.southelgin.com
Batavia	https://bataviail.gov
Oswego	https://www.oswegoil.org
Yorkville	https://www.yorkville.il.us
Ottawa	https://cityofottawa.org
Johnsburg, WI	https://www.johnsburg.org
Waterford, WI	https://www.waterfordwi.gov

IOFRD = “I Offered”

IOFRD is pronounced “I offered” – a day intended to be both an individual and collective event that offers a thank you to the Fox River. The concept originated as a 200-mile cleanup to symbolize the need for a unified approach to protect and restore a watershed. IOFRD has evolved to include celebrations that go beyond the standard trash removal. It is intended to grow awareness throughout the entire watershed for the need to work collaboratively to protect and restore the health of the Fox River. It is also an opportunity for residents to be able to say, “I offered” thanks to my Fox River.

The Fox River serves 1 million residents

Without interruption the Fox River serves over 1,000,000 watershed residents every day. It carries the wastewater and stormwater from over 100 communities, and provides drinking water for over 300,000 residents. It also provides habitat for a diversity of plants and animals and is an exceptional resource for boaters, paddlers, anglers, hikers and photographers. All the while, the Fox River brings economic value through its aesthetic appeal to every riverfront community. 

Managing a resource that crosses a state line and several municipal borders is a huge challenge. FOTFR’s founder, Pat Reese called for a unified effort for watershed management in 1988. It’s Our Fox River Day is a step in that direction.

FOTFR’s Director of Education Operations Jenni Schiavone organized a full-length river paddle trip to help raise awareness about IOFRD and the importance of the Fox River’s natural resources. Jenni experienced unique challenges, inspiring moments and beautiful scenery along her 10-day river journey, paddling and portaging.

Jenni said, “I watched giant fish, turtles, and invertebrates in their natural environment as though it were an aquarium.” Throughout her trip, she also identified threats to the health of the river such as stormwater inputs, combined wastewater overflow, agricultural runoff, and litter.

See IOFRD Event Photos

We are always gathering information and welcome additional materials, photos, logos and/or corrections.

Friends of the Fox River is grateful for the support of organizers and participants whose impact was too enormous to fully tabulate.

IOFRD Organizers

1. Municipalities
2. Service Organizations
3. Business hosts
4. Individuals
5. Large Events with Multiple Partners
   • Lake Geneva
   • Port Barrington
   • Algonquin
   • St. Charles
   • Yorkville
   • Additional various locations

Together, we keep on fixin’ the Fox!