FREP programs are free, open to the public

Reservations are not required, unless so stated

Wednesday, November 9, 2022  

FREP Membership Meeting and Program    1 - 2:30 PM

Location:   Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, St. Charles Park District

           3795 Campton Hills Dr, Saint Charles

Program:  Are River Otters Making a Comeback?  

Presenter:  Pam Otto, St. Charles Park District

A brief business meeting will preceed the program.

FREP Executive Committee will meet at 11 AM

Are River Otters Making a Comeback?  

Pam Otto is Outreach Ambassador for the St. Charles Park District. She writes the popular column "Good Natured" that appears in local publications and on the Hickory Knolls website (LINK)  Pam has a great number of nature stories to tell, including the potential comeback of the river otter.

River otters were classified as an endangered species in Illinois in 1989. The Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources enacted a recovery plan that relocated 346 otters from Louisiana to Illinois during 1994-1997. By 1999, river otters were down-listed to threatened, and their current population is considered stable.

Is it possible to see river otters in the Fox River? Scientists with the Urban Otter Research project say it’s not only possible, but probable! Pam will share info on where past sightings have occurred.  She will also elaborate on the activities of other local aquatic mammals and how they might influence otter expansion. . .like how otters will move into beaver lodges.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022  

FREP Annual Holiday Gathering    4:30 - ? PM

Last year we had such a wonderful time at Rob Linke's home west of St. Charles, we talked him into hosting again. We hope you will join us.

We will start with a hike in nearby Campton Hills Township's Gray Willows Farm. We'll follow by enjoying some food, and a great bonfire.

We are taking RSVPs for the gathering, and then will share directions to Rob's house and details about the food. Please respond by emailing: info@foxriverecosystem.org

The next Fox River Summit is Thursday, March 16, 2023  

Burlington, Wisconsin

Link to website -- watch for details & registration

When FREP was founded back in 1996, one of the first major tasks we undertook was to write a watershed plan for the Fox River watershed in Illinois. This was not like the modern watershed-based plans that include the EPA-required 9 elements that we have today. This plan predated the required 9 elements. The plan was titled Integrated Management Plan for the Fox River Watershed in Illinois and was published in 1998.

It was this plan that established the Vision for FREP: “Our vision for the Fox River watershed is to balance all the uses and demands on our natural resources while preserving and enhancing a healthy environment” which has guided us over the last 26 years.

The Plan included 16 critical factors for achieving that Vision, and made 37 specific recommendations. These recommendations were organized under 6 major topics: Recreation, Habitat, Land Use, Water Quality, Stormwater, and Education. FREP’s initial committee structure was built around these 6 topical areas.

Much has happened since that planning work in our early days. We now have more detailed watershed-based plans that include the required 9 elements for most of our subwatersheds. The funding that was available through FREP from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for projects in the watershed is no longer there (though we brought in over $10M in grants). Over the years we have seen the implementation of dozens of projects made possible by millions of dollars in grants and partner matches.

One of the things we want to work on in 2023 is to review where we’ve been and what we have accomplished over the last 26 years, and begin a collaborative visioning process to guide FREP into future years. We’ll begin by reviewing the major recommendations in the Integrated Management Plan for the Fox River watershed to see what we have already done, what still needs to be done, and what is still relevant today. Then we will craft an updated vision for FREP to follow over the coming years that will help us remain impactful and relevant. Our new vision will be one that incorporates the climate crisis (not yet in our thinking in 1996.)

Our FREP Secretary Lucas King will guide us through this process over the coming year or so. This will include some surveys/questionnaires to help us gather some baseline information. We will seek input from those involved in FREP in the past and the present, to help guide our future. Much of this work will be integrated into our normal Executive Committee meetings, membership meetings, and Noon Networks.

Please be responsive and help guide FREP into the future for a more resilient watershed for us all. If you have any questions, comments, or stories you want to share, please feel free to contact me or Lucas King.

Celebrating all that FREP has achieved. Visioning for the future.

Above: One of FREP's first Noon Networks in 2001, streambank planting in Aurora. Right: FREP Picnic with early FREP presidents Bill Donnell and JT Thompson

Above left: FREP "founders" Marianne Nelson and Barb Sheffer modeling the new T-shirts with the Steve Pescitelli quote on the back - "Fish Don't Lie".  Right:  During the early days of FREP we greatly enjoyed the involvement of the legendary Dick Young.

Countless FREP Noon Networks have been held since the early days. Left: we had a boat tour of Fox Waterway lake area in 2005 and got out to walk on the berm, and later had lunch on Blarney Island. Above: Before we started our annual Fox River Summits with our watershed partners in Wisconsin, we held two large FREP Summits in 2006 and 2007, with a host of speakers.

Thank you to all who have already responded to the statements

for 2022-23 membership renewal. We are at 78% of last year's dues total now and just need a last push to finish out!

Indian Creek

Watershed-based Planning



Update - Nov. 1, 2022

CMAP staff are finalizing the dataset of best management practice (BMP) ideas submitted through the public engagement website and via stakeholder meetings and conversations. BMPs include urban and agricultural “on-the-ground” projects, local plans and policy updates, public education and outreach activities, and water quality monitoring recommendations. The on-the-ground/construction-type BMPs will be modeled by the project’s consultant, Geosyntec, to estimate how much phosphorus, nitrogen, solids, bacteria, and chloride can be reduced going to Indian Creek and the Fox River. 

This “pollutant load reduction” estimate, along with planning level implementation cost estimates for all the BMPs identified in the Indian Creek planning area, are among U.S. EPA’s “nine minimum elements” required in a watershed-based plan. The planning process will then wrap up with a framework for implementing the plan’s recommendations over the next ten years, including a general implementation schedule, criteria for determining progress, and monitoring to evaluate effectiveness. 

The final draft of the Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan is due to Illinois EPA at the end of November, with the final version slated by year’s end.   

Above: Stabilization of severely eroding streambanks along Indian Creek are among

the best management practice recommendations included in the Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan.   Photo by Holly Hudson

For project updates, documents, maps, and announcements, visit https://foxriverecosystem.org/fox/indian-creek. 

If you have any questions about the project or would like to provide any input, please contact Holly Hudson at CMAP: hhudson@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8700.  

Powerpoint presentations from Aug.10, 2022

Tour of the Urban Stream Research Center, Blackwell Forest Preserve, Warrenville   

  USRC Website

 Presenters: Everett Krause & Andres Ortega

Video of June 8, 2022 FREP Noon Network

Program: Kane County’s Countywide Drainage Mapping Initiative –

Where Does Your Water Go?

Presenter: Rob Linke  P.E., CFM Sr. Water Resources Engineer & Wetland

Specialist, Kane County Dept of Environmental & Water Resources

There is a great story in a recent Friends of the Fox River Watershed Weekly:

Full-Length Fox River Trippin' with Jenni

about her paddle trip the entire length

of the Fox River in September.

Check it out HERE