Exploring the Shallows with WGN

Our natural environment is taking a beating these days, which is why Friends of the Chicago River is so pleased to share this excellent and uplifting segment produced by WGN-TV News Anchor/ Reporter Erin McElroy and Photojournalist Audrey Haynes.

Our ever-expanding instream habitat "Shallows Project" started when Friends secured a grant from the Chi-Cal Rivers Fund in 2016 to install native water willow and lizard’s tail in the North Shore Channel in partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. IDNR had piloted the use of these two flashy river-tolerant native species with great success on the Fox River. It seemed natural to export it here as a continuation of our work to together that dates back decades.

We expanded the program to the Little Calumet with our partners at the Shedd Aquarium a few years later, and last year Friends received $630,000 to expand our instream initiative to the full 156-mile river system where 75% of the banks remain natural, although in many places degraded and in need of this kind of restoration work or more.