May 12, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Andrew Herrmann(312) 939-0490 ext 12(312) 550-0303aherrmann@chicagoriver.org

Chicago River Gets Spring Cleaning As Thousands Gathered Saturday For Annual Cleanup Day

B-Roll Video Available here: https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=mgwRj2

and https://youtu.be/u4msiif308k

Some 2,000 volunteers turned out on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at some 70 sites across the Chicago area for the Friends of the Chicago River’s annual cleanup day, removing plastic, cans, tires and other refuse.

Volunteers for Chicago River Day, first held in 1992, have, over the years, carted off tons of garbage from the Chicago River system and restored banks throughout its 156 miles of shoreline.

“The Chicago River system has improved dramatically thanks, in part, to volunteers such as those who turned out today,” said Margaret Frisbie, Executive Director of Friends of the Chicago River. “As water quality improves and work is done on land restoration, more and more people are coming to appreciate this natural treasure.”

At Clark Park, 3400 N. Rockwell St., (below) volunteers filled two canoes with trash they removed from the river, including shopping carts, pillows, mattresses and plastic bottles.

Volunteers for 2018 wore specially designed T-shirts bearing the images of monarch butterflies, this year’s Chicago River Day “spirit animal.” The monarch is one of about 100 species of butterflies found in the area, according to the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

The monarch population faced challenges due to climate change altering the timing of migration and rainfall patterns in their forest habitat. They've lost habitat in the United States and Mexico as milkweed, their main food source, is being reduced through pesticides.

Twenty-six years and more than 60,000 volunteers after the first Chicago River Day, the Chicago River system is no longer a forgotten wildlife corridor filled with sewage and trash. Today the river system is vibrant, accessible, and alive with people, 70 species of fish, countless species of birds, and many native animals including beavers, mink, and turtles.

Volunteers at Ping Tom Park, 1700 S. Wentworth Ave.

Fun Chicago River System Facts:

156 miles of shoreline, starting as far north as Park City, near Waukegan. The first Chicago River Day was held in 1992, where 25 people hauled out garbage

including a car seat, bicycles, golf balls, construction barriers, snow fencing, a railroad tie, 55-gallon drums, tire, the ubiquitous beer cans, bottles, and shopping carts.

The event has grown to thousands of participants each year. Since its start, more than 60,000 volunteers have rallied to remove more than 600 tons of trash.

The Chicago River system today is home to mammals such as mink, beavers, coyotes, red fox, river otters, and white-tailed deer. Birds include herons, ducks and osprey. Reptiles include American toads, blue-spotted salamanders, painted turtles and snapping turtles. Some 70 species of fish have been found in the river, including bluegill, largemouth bass, channel catfish and pumpkinseed sunfish.

Native Americans, such as the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawatomi, and Miami, used the Chicago River and its portage for thousands of years. French traders were active in this region in the late 1600s, canoeing goods along the Chicago waterways.

The first anti-pollution ordinance was passed in 1833, which declared that no “dung, dead animal carrion, putrid meat, fish entrails or decayed vegetables” could be dumped into the Chicago River. It was largely ignored.

Founded in 1979, Friends of the Chicago River is an award winning nonprofit organization whose

mission is to improve and protect the Chicago River for people, plants, and animals. With over 6,000

members, volunteers, and online advocates, Friends works to make the river greener and more accessible,

while building awareness of the benefits that a clean, healthy river can bring to communities across the

watershed. Friends of the Chicago River is working to make the Chicago River one of the world’s

greatest metropolitan rivers. For more information on Friends of the Chicago River, please visit our

website: www.chicagoriver.org.