General

Taking the Pulse of Friends of the Fox River

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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 River gravel bar

Our Waters, Our Fox

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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

Birds, Bales and Waters of the United States

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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

WATERSHED WATCHDOGS EXPAND TO AURORA AND CRYSTAL LAKE!

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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

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

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