Truly passionate about the river system and the role that it can play in improving public health, assisting wildlife, and combatting the climate crisis, Friends' Executive Director Margaret Frisbie has devoted herself to the Chicago River system which is reflected in the 20 distinguished awards that Friends has received during her tenure.

Friends of the Chicago River supports efforts to bring together city officials, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector to map out a comprehensive strategy to restore Chicago's tree canopy, a proposal put forth by our long-time partner, Openlands.

More than a dozen members of Friends' Tributary Committee fanned out across three Chicago parks June 13 to collect hundreds of pounds of trash strewn along the river's edge

Strong participation in the 2020 Census is crucial to Friends and our environmental partners who rely on accurate census data to help enforce protections of our watershed for people, plants and wildlife.

A largemouth bass, tagged by aquatic biologists in the Chicago River near Goose in October 2019, traveled 30 miles upstream in the North Branch of the
Chicago River and reached the Skokie River.

Friends of the Chicago River is pleased to welcome Elizabeth O'Brien, a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group at Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC to Friends' Board of Directors.

Friends' online educational series - Chicago River Talks - is available on our YouTube Channel.

Last week Friends was thrilled to discover an osprey adding material to the nesting platform we installed at Beaubien Woods in early 2018. Reports a few days later by Forest Preserve District staff revealed there was a male and a female together there which was confirmed again yesterday by Friends' staff.

Days of rain have resulted in tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage and stormwater runoff pouring into the Chicago River system through the sewers and overland as well as releases into the lake at Wilmette and downtown Chicago.

Friends and our Water Quality Task Force partners at Environmental Law & Policy Center, Openlands, and Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter are seeking photographs of algal blooms on the river to support our efforts to reduce nutrient pollution.

We're especially looking for photos from the 2018 and 2019 paddling seasons, but any photos will help.