Wed., August 11, 2021        FREP Noon Network  Noon - 1:30 PM   

Program: Roadsides As Habitat

We will meet initially at: McHenry Township

Top Left: Planting along Miller Road.

Township staff mow only the road edge of the ROW during the growing season.

Top Right: Planting on Solon Road.

Black-eyed Susans are the earliest flowering plant in the roadside prairies.

Lower: Township staff and Environmental Defenders summer interns and volunteers

assess the progress of the roadside prairie establishment each summer.

In these times of declining biodiversity, mass extinctions, and the global climate crisis, we need to look at non-traditional ways to provide habitat for our pollinators and other species. Can roadsides, particularly in more rural areas, provide connecting habitats to help? Come and learn about roadsides as habitat and see some examples implemented by a local transportation agency at our August 11^th meeting in McHenry County.

Singing insects are special in that they can be uniquely identified by their sounds, whereas other species that do not sing, such as dragonflies, have to be identified by sight. We can learn a lot about species diversity just by listening on a warm summer night. I have listened on my deck on a late summer evening and identified several species of cicadas and crickets calling in or near my yard, using the web page https://singinginsects.net/ . 

Most of the natural noises after dark in the late summer early fall are insects. In the spring and early summer, it is mostly frogs and toads. And in the right places and times, both can provide quite a cacophony of sounds. Come out to our September 8, 2021 program at Creek Bend Nature Center presented by Carl Strang to learn more about the singing insects!

And finally, as FREP enters our 25^th year, we can reflect on all that we’ve accomplished since our founding in 1996. But of course, we find ourselves in challenging times with a pandemic and a global climate crisis. I strongly encourage each of you to be thinking about the ways we all can do more to help make our watershed and community more prepared and resilient in the face of the global climate crisis. Will our beloved Fox River stay where it is? How will the climate change affect our flooding, and our responses? What more should our communities be doing now? I am reminded every day that while I may be doing more than the “average” American, there is always more than can and must be done. If we all work together, we can make a difference and maintain a habitable planet starting here in our watershed.

At our FREP Annual Picnic Wednesday, July 28th we had a great presentation on mussels by Jessi DeMartini of DuPage County Forest Preserve

Program: Singing Insects by Carl Strang

Location: Creek Bend Nature Center

Program: Post-project tour in Carpentersville of the Keith Andres Memorial Park Stream Stabilization Project

Location: Meet first at Carpentersville Public Works

Program: Free the Fox

Location: TBA

Our 2021-22 annual dues statements to current members were sent out in June.

You can also check for your name on our FREP Membership Roll 

FREP Membership Form.

Bluestem Ecological Services

City of Batavia

City of Elgin

City of Geneva

Crystal Lake Park Dist.

DeKalb County Forest Preserve Dist.

Fox River Water Reclamation Dist.

Hey and Associates

Jelkes Creek Watershed

Kane-DuPage SWCD

June Keibler, Friend, Dundee

Living Waters Consultants, Inc.

McHenry County Conservation Dist.

McHenry County Conservation Foundation

Saint Charles Park District

Village of Algonquin

Village of Oakwood Hills

Visit the website: https://fabulousfoxwatertrail.org/

Karen Ann Miller at: millerkaren@co.kane.il.us.

CMAP staff finished developing an ArcGIS Field Maps app to document shoreland conditions at Poss Lake (photo above) in the Big Woods Forest Preserve as well as the stretch of the Fox River within the planning area in Aurora. Staff completed approximately two-thirds of the Poss Lake shoreland assessment over two days in mid-June, documenting shoreline erosion degree as well as riparian and aquatic zone conditions. One more day at the lake ought to do it, then a few days along the Fox River. Do wave if you happen to be paddling by!

Staff also completed development of an ArcGIS Field Maps/Survey 123 combination app to use for recording stream physical conditions assessment information. After doing a test run to ensure all the needed data fields are included and the app is functioning as intended, stream assessment field work is expected to begin during July and continue through the summer, dependent on the availability and scheduling of partner staff to join a CMAP staff person each day when wading Indian Creek.

The project’s modeling consultant, Geosyntec, finalized the HSPF model’s hydrology, completed the model’s water quality calibration for several pollutants (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, suspended solids, fecal coliform, and chloride), and applied the model to simulate pollutant loadings for current land use conditions as well as forecasted, future land use. A draft technical report describing the HSPF model update process, assumptions, and pollutant load estimates is under review.

The shoreland, stream, and detention basin assessment information, along with the pollutant load estimates, will be incorporated into the final watershed resource inventory (WRI) due at the end of the summer. Then development of the watershed-based plan will move to the forefront where engagement activities with watershed stakeholders will help identify opportunities to protect and improve water and aquatic habitat quality throughout the Indian Creek planning area – so stayed tuned 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.

Farm Foundation and Openlands are excited to announce the launch of their website Dialogues on the Future of Food, Farming and Conservation

Their mission is to engage communities in productive conversation about responsible land use that balances farming, natural resources, climate resiliency and economic development.

There is a Will County dialog on Thursday, July 29. Agenda & Info

McHenry County College Sustainability Center Green Guide Recycling Directory

630-482-9157 foxriverinfo@comcast.net