We are learning that doing things differently (not necessarily by choice) can yield better results. Friends of the Fox River (FOFR) is meeting new challenges by offering our services of education, restoration, and advocacy in new ways. Everybody is experiencing some loss during this unique period: loss of life, connection to others, work as we … Read more
By Jack MacRae The western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis) is the smallest (weighing an average 1/4 oz – 1/2 oz) of our long-tailed (almost 100 mm long!) neighborhood mice. They are mousy brown with grayish white on their bellies and a nearly hairless tail. They live where the grass and weeds are plentiful. Go East Young Mouse … Read more
By Jenni Schiavone Dear Caregivers, The Friends of the Fox River (FOFR) Education Design Team and I feel it is important to reach out to all caregivers to acknowledge and celebrate the work that you do without knowing you are doing it. Let this digital message be the conduit between my heart and all of … Read more
I love April Fool’s Day. It is a time to find some humor in the ordinary. With great respect to the very serious conditions we are experiencing, I hope you will excuse the opportunity to bring some light humor to an extraordinary time. April Fools! By Gary Swick, FOFR President The Need Since the beginning … Read more
What Were You Doing 30 Years Ago? By Gary Swick, President Maybe you were getting a new job, traveling, going to school, still in diapers, or maybe you weren’t even been born yet. Lucky for us that founder of the Friends of the Fox River (FOFR), Pat Reese was visioning a better world for Fox … Read more
By Gary Mechanic, Executive Director Last spring at our amazing “Love Our River Day“ clean-up and community celebration in Elgin, Kathy Haerr offered a water blessing during which she said: “Water has a memory”. I mentally scoffed at the idea. I took her to mean that water has a memory the way we have a … Read more
By Jack MacRae I think everyone should have at least one wahoo (Euonymus atropupureus) in their backyard. They’re small, shrubby native trees that prefer average to moist conditions and do well in today’s crazy world. They thrive in the filtered shade of wide-open woods and forest edges, creating a picturesque colony over the years. Shrubs such as … Read more
Fifty Years of Environmental Protection In this year’s live presentation of the State of the Fox River, I shared my challenge in answering the complex question that I often receive: “How is the Fox River doing?” Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1970 things have been improving. That legislation was a federally … Read more
By Brandon Combs and Jenni Schiavone Friends of the Fox River Second Saturday Outdoor Adventures is a new program initiative we’re starting this year. We hope this monthly program will engage young community members and their families in regular outdoor educational activities as we explore the Fox River’s watershed. We are proud to report that … Read more
By Jack MacRae Groundhogs and badgers are both local, grayish mammals that live in holes in the ground. But that’s where the similarities end. Groundhogs (Marmota monax) are grazing members of the rodent family; badgers are hunting members of the weasel family, (Mustelidae). Groundhogs live all over, badgers are restricted in their local range. Groundhogs have a holiday … Read more
