Our next activity - Wednesday, November 10, 2021: |
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Wed., November 10, 2021
FREP Membership Meeting & Program, 1 - 2:30 PM
Location: Batavia Government Center, Council Chambers
100 N. Island Ave., Batavia, IL 60510 All attendees must wear masks
Program: Free the Fox
Art Malm considers history, aquatic science, engineering, economics, and public policy as it relates to dam removal on the Fox River. Art is on the Friends of the Fox River board and represents them on the Fox River Study Group board.
FREP Executive Committee will meet at 11 AM in the Aldermen's Room
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The latest round of global climate talks will take place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom – known as COP 26. Thousands of government delegates and people from civil society, business and the media will gather to advance climate action. The world will be watching and demanding that national leaders rise to the moment, given the mounting climate crisis and far-reaching consequences for a livable future. Science confirms we have reached a “code red” for our world.
Our friends at Seven Generations Ahead were recently selected to be an observer organization at the COP 26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. SGA’s It’s Our Future program will be sending 6 students from Chicago Public Schools, Oak Park River Forest High School and Evanston Township High School along with 3 teachers. “We’re very excited to have been selected as an official Observer Organization for this year’s COP 26 UN Climate Summit,” says Gary Cuneen, SGA’s executive director. “This opportunity provides us with an upfront view of the negotiations which we will share with the Chicago metro area, and will enable our youth delegates to learn firsthand about how the proceedings work and the issues being discussed.” FREP heard a presentation from them on their experience at the last meeting, COP 25, via Zoom in the early pandemic times of our virtual meetings. We look forward to hearing from them again.
Combustion-engine cars occupy a special place in American culture, but to reach net zero by 2050 the US needs to rethink its relationship with the automobile. Arlington, Texas has the strange honor of being the largest city in the United States with no public transport service – not a single bus line or rail track. Its 400,000 residents have only their own cars and a city-sponsored rideshare service to get around in. It's an extreme example, but not a huge contrast with hundreds of other American cities where travelling without a private vehicle is time-consuming and difficult. It's easy to see why having a car in the US is synonymous with mobility and freedom to travel – without one, you're beholden to poor transit services that might include one-hour waits for buses that may or may not arrive, minimal or non-existent bike lanes and limited rail service, among other challenges. The car-centric infrastructure and culture of the US is also the crux of its greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2017, transport has been the single largest source of greenhouses gases in the US – higher than electricity or industry emissions – and these emissions are dominated by cars. If the US is going to meet its climate commitments to reduce emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050, it's going to have to do something about this.
The country's skyrocketing car use isn't necessarily the fault of individual drivers. Historic development patterns and policies which continue to prop up car-dependent infrastructure mean there are often few other options. Incentives for people to buy electric cars can help reduce emissions, but many experts believe moving to clean transport also requires rethinking how we move about in the first place. Massive investment is needed to move American cities in the direction of bike and public transit-friendly metropolises in Europe and Asia. Since the mid-20th Century, federal funding for transport has largely gone to car infrastructure such as highways, says Ethan Elkind, who leads the climate program at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. Many cities in the US are built on a 1950s blueprint of sprawling subdivisions reliant on cars. Pedestrian, biking and public transit have taken the backseat. "Now we're just locked into it," says Elkind. "It's certainly creating a lot of environmental challenges, but also social and political challenges, given the isolation that people are experiencing in suburbs." In 2019, more than three-quarters of American workers drove alone to work. The vast majority of their cars burn petrol, each emitting an average of 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per year – equivalent to the total yearly emissions of someone living in France. The US also lags behind China and Northern European countries in electric car sales – electric vehicles made up only 2% of all new cars sold in 2020 (75% of cars sold in Norway the same year were electric).
Use the link above to read the rest of the article to see what solutions are discussed. It points us toward what do we have to do in our mostly suburban watershed. How do we reduce fossil fuel vehicle dependence? I see people who still leave their vehicles idling for literally an hour or more, just to keep the car warm or cool as the season dictates while they wait for their family or are in the store! How can our communities overcome the car-first mentality, the who cares I can afford it mentality, and address the climate change in a serious way?
As we wait to hear about the discussions and results of COP 26, let’s all be thinking about what we can do right here in our highly fossil fuel vehicle dependent watershed.
Jeff Mengler
FREP President
Below are photos I took at our October 13 Noon Network Post-project Tour in Carpentersville of the Keith Andres Memorial Park Stream Stabilization Project
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December Holiday Gathering
Date & Location TBD
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
FREP Membership Meeting & Program
Location: TBD
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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 in November. 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 4th:
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City of St. Charles
John Church, Friend, Oswego
Stewart Pagenstecher, Friend, Geneva
Fay Sinnott, Friend, Barrington
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Water Trail Update October 2021
At the request of Congressman Bill Foster, Madam Chairman Corinne Pierog and the Kane County Development Department hosted a paddle on the Fox River between North Aurora Island Park and Veterans Memorial Island Park in Aurora on Sun. Sept. 12th for about a dozen local elected officials and organizations. Howling Wolfe Canoe and Kayak in North Aurora provided the gear and instructions. A few months ago, Congressman Foster, a kayaker, expressed interest in the Fabulous Fox! Water Trail (FF!WT). The Core Development Team is scheduled to meet virtually on Tues. Nov. 2nd at 1:00 PM. Please contact Karen Ann Miller for more information about anything FF!WT.
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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 October 26, 2021
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The stream physical conditions field assessments began in September, continued during October, and will be completed in November – hopefully before the water gets too cold! CMAP wishes to thank the adventurous individuals who have accompanied CMAP staff in the wading and assessing of Indian Creek and its main tributaries so far, namely Jessi DeMartini with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Rob Linke with Kane County Division of Environmental & Water Resources, and Patrick Chess and Lauren Swanson with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
Indian Creek has revealed itself to be a stream of surprisingly variable conditions … from gravelly and cobble strewn stretches under a canopy of trees running through urbanized sections with challenging bank erosion issues (upper photos) … to largely stable, muck-filled reaches winding through sun-filled natural areas overgrown by wetland vegetation or covered by duckweed (lower photos). The sea of lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) concealing a section of Indian Creek through the Chicago Premium Outlets Forest Preserve was remarkable!
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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 at year’s end.
On the administrative side, Illinois EPA okayed an extension of the grant period through June 30, 2022. Following wrap up of the final WRI by December 31, 2021, the development of the watershed-based 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. Keep an eye on this space and through special announcements for information on how you can participate!
For project updates, documents, maps, and announcements, please visit https://foxriverecosystem.org/fox/indian-creek. If you would like to be added to the contact list for Indian Creek Watershed-based Planning news and events, or have any questions about the project, please contact Holly Hudson at CMAP: hhudson@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8700.
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On Tuesday, November 2, McHenry County Planning and Development and the City of McHenry, in partnership with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, will host two virtual open houses via Zoom for the Fox River Corridor Plan. Meetings will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the evening.
Guided by over a year and a half of community input, the plan presents a unified vision for the Fox River Corridor, spanning from Burtons Bridge to the south and Johnsburg at North Chapel Hill Road bridge to the north. It identifies strategies to spur economic investment, protect natural resources, enhance recreational amenities, improve bicycle and pedestrian access, and promote local and regional collaboration.
Attend an open house for the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the draft plan through small and large group discussions. Local residents, business owners, community leaders, and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate!
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Register for an open house using the one of the following links:
Tuesday, November 2, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.: LINK
Tuesday, November 2, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.: LINK
or 312-386-8631
for additional information about the Fox River Corridor Plan.
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Not far from our Fox River watershed in Rockford is an issue we can help with! |
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One of the last remaining prairies in Illinois is slated for destruction as part of the expansion of the Chicago Rockford International Airport. Rare, threatened, and endangered species will be destroyed. The prairie is named Bell Bowl Prairie.
The prairie is located at approximately 6045 Cessna Drive in the city of Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.
There is now a temporary hold on construction activities until November 1st, 2021 due to the discovery of the federally Endangered rusty patched bumble bee.
For more information visit
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Annual People and the Fox Photography Contest
The deadline is November 10.
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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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