All of Us Working Together Protect the River

The past two months have seen instability with Federal funding across all kinds of Federal grants. Friends receives not only direct Federal funding, but also funds which originate from Federal agencies and are then granted via organizations such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Federal grants are immensely impactful because they leverage the size of the government to bring transformative resources to the Chicago area which private philanthropy often cannot match.

Currently, Friends is utilizing eight grants consisting of Federal funding, all of which are at risk for termination or being suspended, and one already is suspended. These grants are supporting shovel-ready projects at three Forest Preserves of Cook County sites in southern Cook County, and along the North Shore Channel. Collectively, they are removing invasive species so native plants can proliferate for the benefit of wildlife and water quality, and improving resiliency so the impacts of flooding and climate change are not as severe. Grants are also supporting planning projects across the entire river system which will lead to future transformative work, such as expanding instream native plantings across all 156 miles of the river and its tributaries. Furthermore, our Federally-funded environmental justice work is providing frontline river-adjacent communities with the chance to reverse decades of disinvestment and unfair treatment, so their neighborhoods can thrive.

In past years, Friends has restored hundreds of acres of forest preserves and reconnected Mill Creek to the Cal-Sag Channel with Federal funding. These award-winning projects have led to cleaner water and healthier habitat. With Federal funding at risk, similar impactful projects might never have the chance to exist; hard-fought gains in water quality improvements suffer; land and habitat restoration work halts, and more and better access to open space for all diminishes.  

Please call your elected representatives and urge them to do all they can to intervene in the freezing and termination of EPA grants and other Federal funding. The Chicago-Calumet River system cannot protect itself. Only all of us working together can.