PLEASE RSVP BY
Friday, December 17
for details and a link to place
your food order
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December Holiday Gathering
Outdoors -- Hike, Food, Bonfire
Tuesday, December 21, 2021 4:30 PM
at the St. Charles home of FREP member
Rob Linke
Come join us for a (short) winter hike through the oak woodlands and wetlands along Ferson Creek at dusk followed by food and drink around a warm bonfire!
Forecast is cold & dry, so bring a chair, flashlight, warm clothes and holiday cheer!
Thanks to a generous donation, complimentary box meals will provided.
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FREP Membership Meeting, Annual Elections & Program
Wednesday, January 12, 2022 1 - 2:30 PM
Location: The Centre, 1 Symphony Way, Elgin All attendees must wear masks
Program: Local Government’s Approach to Meeting the Evolving Stormwater Requirements in the State’s NPDES / MS4 Program – A Panel Discussion
Panelists Include:
Rob Linke, P.E., Kane County Dept of Environmental & Water Resources;
Scott Kuykendall,LEED AP BD+C, McHenry County Water Resources,
Mark Phipps, P.E. City of Aurora Public Works Department
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The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Program, is a nationwide mandate intended to preserve, protect and improve the nation’s surface waters from stormwater pollution. The program is administered in Illinois by the IEPA and is designed to reduce impacts to surface water resources by requiring local jurisdictions within urbanized areas of the state to implement six minimum control measures.
These six minimum control measures are 1. Public education and Outreach, 2. Public Involvement & Participation, 3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination, 4. Construction Site Stormwater Control, 5. Post-construction Stormwater Management and 6. Pollution Prevention / Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operators. Counties, municipalities, and townships in Northeastern Illinois have established NPDES Phase II programs and maintain permit compliance with the IEPA through permits which are renewed every 5 years. The IEPA is currently revising the NPDES Phase II permit requirements and will likely issue new permit requirements in early 2022, which each agency will have to meet.
With many local government agencies having limited funding for stormwater quality programs and activities, they face ever increasing demands to find creative ways to meet the challenges posed by new and changing NPDES Phase II requirements with limited budgets.
This FREP program will provide a brief overview of the State of Illinois NPDES Phase II requirements and conduct a panel discussion with county and municipal staff from the watershed who are tasked with coordinating their agency’s programs to address the mandates in the NPDES Phase II Program.
FREP Executive Committee will meet at 11 AM
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One Earth Film Festival
March 4-13, 2022
FREP plans to co-sponsor a film again this year. Watch for details soon.
Information about all the films scheduled will be on their website HERE
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Fox River Summit, Burlington, Wisconsin
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Details to Come
FREP will not be holding a Membership meeting in March, so that we can encourage participation in this annual Summit.
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As 2021 is in its final weeks, I offer all of you a Happy Holidays – out of respect for whatever holidays you observe at this time of year. I know as we head into the new year, none of us expected to still be dealing with the COVID pandemic and yet another variant. And this while we continue to face the existential threat of global climate change.
In 2022, we plan to hear from folks who attended the COP26 climate summit and get their thoughts on successes and failures of the Summit. We will in another program learn about the Regional Climate Change Action Plan and our local communities that are implementing the plan. We are also planning (at this point in time) an in-person Fox River Summit in March, which I think will be our 10th annual. Our participation in the One Earth Film Festival will also continue in some form in 2022. Watch for details as we work to confirm details for all of these activities in 2022.
Meanwhile, I will return to my theme of what can we all do to help against climate change and making our watershed healthier and more resilient.
I offer the following suggestions, though I acknowledge some of them may be obvious to our FREP members:
Eliminate as much single-use plastic in your household and work environment as you can. Think about packaging. Here’s some examples:
1 Use a dental floss that is made of silk instead of plastic and comes in a tiny glass
jar instead of plastic (I use it).
2 Use paper towels and toilet paper that is made from bamboo instead of wood,
and comes with no plastic wrap (I use it).
3 Remember your reusable cloth bags and use them for more than the grocery
store. There’s no good reason to accept a plastic bag at the pet store or the
hardware store. ( I like everyone else often forget my cloth bags).
4 Don’t buy plastic wrapped produce if you can help it.
5 Buy laundry and dish detergents that are plant-based and come without any
plastic packaging or bottles (I do).
Other suggestions:
1 Replace all light bulbs with LED bulbs. The prices have come down and they’re
available in a wider variety of types.
2 Replace gas-powered lawn tools with electric – I even have an electric (cordless)
snowblower now.
3 Replace leaking/dripping water fixtures. And remember its not just the water usage
– water usage equals energy usage to pump and treat the water on both ends.
4 Plant native species and more trees in your yard. Make your yard better habitat for
you and nature, and provide carbon sequestration with the vegetation.
5 Use only slow-release organic fertilizers and herbicides.
6 Consider solar panels.
7 Consider an electric or hybrid vehicle. Walk or bike to nearby destinations.
8 Set your thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer
– its an oldie but goodie.
9 Use a rain barrel and only irrigate gardens, flower beds and such – the green lawn
can go dormant and recover.
Many of these are obvious and some date back to the 1970s when we had our first “energy crisis” but they’re still appropriate. And remember you don’t need to do it all perfectly – we just need everyone to do what they can as they are able. Many people doing a little will be much better than no one doing anything because they can’t do it perfectly.
Jeff Mengler
FREP President
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We are pleased to provide the link below for our 11/10/21 FREP Presentation
by Art Malm:
Freeing Our Fox! - a discussion of dams on the Fox River in Illinois
Thank you to Art Malm for this excellent presentation.
Art is with Friends of the Fox River and the Fox River Study Group.
Video filmed and prepared by KBHMedia.
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FREP Annual Elections to be held at our January 12, 2022 meeting
at The Centre in Elgin
Our current proposed Slate of Officers is:
Jeff Mengler, President
Nancy Williamson, Vice President
Elizabeth Hagen-Moeller, Treasurer
FREP is in need of a new Secretary in 2022. This job requires minutes to be taken at FREP Executive Committee and Membership meetings. Approximately 4 double-meetings a year (January, May, September, November. Minutes are not taken at our Noon Networks.)
If you are interested in joining the FREP Executive Committee, and/or have a nomination for secretary or any of these positions, please email Becky Hoag at foxriverinfo@comcast.net
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Our 2021-22 annual dues statements to current members were sent out in June.
We truly appreciate your support and are grateful to all who have sent in their dues.
We are hoping to wrap up the annual membership drive this month. If you aren't on
Membership can be initiated or renewed online and dues paid via PayPal at:
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Thank You!
Membership Dues received since
our last Downstream on October 27th:
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Campton Township
City of Aurora
Fox Valley Park District
Kane County Farm Bureau
Holly Hudson, Friend, Elgin
Pizzo Native Plant Nursery
RES, Inc.
Sierra Club - IL & Valley of the Fox
United City of Yorkville
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If you would like more information or learn how to get involved, please contact
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Fox River Subwatershed News |
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Indian Creek
Watershed-based Planning
Update for December 14, 2021
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The field assessment portion of the stream physical conditions inventory is nearing completion. Thank goodness for some relatively warmer weather days during November and December! CMAP wishes to thank the hardy souls who assisted CMAP staff in the assessment of sections of Indian Creek and its main tributaries during these two months, namely Paul Anderson with his FREP hat on, Rishab Mahajan and Matt Bardol with Geosyntec, Art Malm with Friends of the Fox River, Jonathan Hunt and Wally Levernier at Fermilab, Rob Linke with Kane County Division of Environmental & Water Resources, and Dan Grigas with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. While our fingers and toes may have been a bit chilly, fall colors and interesting finds helped us not to dwell on the elements. |
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Staff also have been continuing to assess stormwater detention basins throughout the watershed planning area. Each of the more than 200 basins are being visited to confirm basin type (e.g., pond, dry bottom-turf or -mesic prairie, constructed wetland), native buffer extent, shoreline erosion degree, maintenance needs, retrofit opportunities, and their relative water quality benefit. An assessment of nearshore conditions of the Fox River through the planning area will also be conducted before year’s end. Results of all the field assessments will be included in the final watershed resource inventory (WRI) due to Illinois EPA in mid-February.
Following wrap up of the WRI, the development of the watershed-based action plan will move into high gear. Engagement activities with watershed stakeholders will be launched and will help identify opportunities to protect and improve water and aquatic habitat quality throughout the Indian Creek planning area. Guided by this input, the plan will identify water quality related on-the-ground projects, outreach and education activities, and planning and policy recommendations, which then become eligible for federal grant assistance as well as other local and state funding and technical assistance opportunities. Keep an eye on this space and through special announcements for information on how you can participate!
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Internship Opportunity:
Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Trails System Program Analyst Fellow
Reply-To:rmsmoderator@river-management.orgWe are recruiting for two 11-month fellowship positions within the Wild and Scenic Rivers program through the Hispanic Access Foundation! Please consider sharing widely across your networks. Details and links to the application are shared below.
For this 11-month Fellowship, the National Park Service, in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Hispanic Access Foundation, is seeking assistance and guidance in research, data collection and visualization, and communications to support the Wild and Scenic Rivers System and National Trails System. The Fellow will have the opportunity to work across agencies to support vital collaborative projects.
The National Park Service and the Hispanic Access Foundation are seeking assistance for program development, communication efforts, and special projects that better promote and build awareness and support for the Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program (PWSR). (11 month program).
For both positions, applications are due by January 3, 2022.
River Management Society
PO Box 5750
Takoma Park, MD USA 20913-5750
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March 16-19, 2022 - Champaign, IL
Joint Illinois Lakes Management Association and Illinois American Fisheries Society Conference
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Community Recycling Information |
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Becky Hoag, Communications Manager
Fox River Ecosystem Partnership
Please email Becky if you have an email to add to our mailing list or content to add to the next monthly Downstream.
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