Our efforts to tag and track turtles at restoration sites along the North Branch and in the Calumet have really paid off. Read more about this exciting development here.

What's this little critter? Friends' staff who were present aren't convinced that the medium sized brown animal swimming at Goose Island was a muskrat, but we do know that river otters are making a comeback. 

According to wildlife biologists from the Forest Preserves of Cook County, they have been seen downtown and in several forest preserves along the Chicago, Calumet, and Des Plaines rivers. 

While there are a lot of good reasons not to swim in the Chicago River system, they are becoming a fewer and Friends is pleased to be developing ideas and partnerships that will help make the river safe and more accessible every day. Check out the Chicago Sun-Times piece regarding a potential swimming event that ran last week. Also check out Friends' comments on why you should NOT jump in just yet.

One of Friends of the Chicago River's longest and most loyal volunteers, Tom Nelson, who sadly passed away last winter, was heralded in the Chicago Tribune because of his spirited style and dedicated to the Chicago Jazz.

Nelson met his wife, Laurie, at the Chicago Jazz Fest and on their first big date he brought her down the Chicago River in a big inflatable raft which he ended up bringing to Jazz Fest, using it as a couch to enjoy the sounds of jazz in the magnificent park.

The Columbia College Chronicle highlights the need for investment and collaboration to make the rivers that flow through the Chicago and the collaboration through Great Rivers Chicago and the "Our Great Rivers" plan that was released this summer.