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Prairie Rivers Network At Prairie Rivers Network, we protect water, heal land, and inspire change.

WELCOME TO Prairie Rivers Network, Illinois' advocate for clean water and healthy rivers.

Who says fall means raking? This season, put down the rake and leave the leaves where they land! Leaves are free, fun, a...
10/16/2026

Who says fall means raking? This season, put down the rake and leave the leaves where they land! Leaves are free, fun, and a great excuse to get outside. Here are just four ways you can use leaves to see your neighborhood differently:

1. Take chalk on a walk. Leaves are just one great way to work with nature to create a unique street or sidewalk mural.

2. Go on leaf patrol. Collect leaves of different shapes, sizes, and colors, then try to figure out which trees they came from. Compare their sizes, colors, and even smells.

3. Document fall's sidewalks. Sketch or photograph nature’s ever-changing art exhibits.

4. Make leaf art. Bring leaves inside and use them to create collages, tracings, rubbings, and much more.

BONUS: Leaving the leaves also gives moths, caterpillars, lightning bugs, and birds a place to call home, so your yard gets healthier while you play outside. This link has more information on why leaving the leaves is so important 🍁🍂: https://prairierivers.org/front-page/2024/10/leave-the-leaves-this-fall/

PS: We'd love to see how you're having fun with leaves this fall, if you're willing to share. Post your photos with the hashtag so we can check them out!

Have you ever wondered how solar farms are impacting Illinois soil health?Join us Tuesday, October 13 at noon for our Re...
10/09/2026

Have you ever wondered how solar farms are impacting Illinois soil health?

Join us Tuesday, October 13 at noon for our Resilient Communities Webinar: “What’s Happening Under the Panels? Exploring Solar Impacts on Soil Health.” The Great Plains Institute and Argonne National Laboratory will share practical tools and site design strategies.

Register for the webinar today. Hosted by University of Illinois Extension Community and Economic Development and Prairie Rivers Network. https://registration.extension.illinois.edu/start/resilient-communities-webinar-series

Before you bag those leaves, consider what’s hiding in them.A new study from the National Wildlife Federation found that...
10/09/2026

Before you bag those leaves, consider what’s hiding in them.

A new study from the National Wildlife Federation found that when you dispose of your leaves, you may also be throwing away about 45% of your spring butterfly and moth populations. Many species spend the winter in the leaf litter as chrysalises or cocoons—so well camouflaged they look like just another leaf.

Why does that matter beyond the butterflies? Because of the chickadees.

Chickadees rely almost entirely on caterpillars to feed their young. A single clutch needs 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars, which means parents are hunting down 350-570 a day. And those caterpillars depend on native plants and healthy leaf litter to make it through the winter and become the next generation.

Leaving the leaves is one of the easiest ways to support the whole chain and promote biodiversity in your own backyard. No extra work needed, and it’s free! Rake them into garden beds, under trees and shrubs, or along fence lines instead of sending them to the curb.

Read the study here: https://blog.nwf.org/2025/09/wildlife-we-throw-away/

What would Illinois lose if the 2001 Roadless Rule was rescinded? On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune took a closer look at t...
10/05/2026

What would Illinois lose if the 2001 Roadless Rule was rescinded?

On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune took a closer look at the Trump Administration’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule—and what that could mean for 44.7 million acres nationwide and more than 10,000 acres of designated roadless areas in the Shawnee National Forest and all who call this space home.

The Shawnee in Southern Illinois offers some of the most remote and biodiverse places in Illinois—home to wildlife, waterways, rare habitats, and so much more that makes them so special. The Roadless Rule has helped keep some of these places protected from developments like roads, clearcut logging, and mining for more than two decades.

But, the potential cost of scrapping the Roadless Rule isn’t just ecological.

According to their own analysis, the federal government shows that repealing the rule could result in millions of dollars in annual economic losses tied to recreation, tourism, wildlife, and the ecosystem benefits—like clean water and carbon sequestration—these acres of forest provide.

The public comment period ends tomorrow, October 6th. Join more than 700 people who have already signed our petition and stand up for not just Shawnee’s roadless areas—but for the roadless areas across the nation.

You can read the full Chicago Tribune article and sign PRN’s petition through the links in the comments.

A proposed large-scale data center in Mahomet has raised serious concerns about transparency, utility costs, long-term c...
10/02/2026

A proposed large-scale data center in Mahomet has raised serious concerns about transparency, utility costs, long-term community impacts, and the Mahomet Aquifer—the drinking water of nearly one million people in central Illinois.

Prairie Rivers Network is hard at work supporting communities across Illinois as the threats of new data centers arise, and this development is no different. We are reviewing documents released via the Freedom of information Act earlier this week,and are using our knowledge to raise questions about tax incentives, claims about water use, and legally enforceable protections.

We are all looking for something to do. Here are a few actions you can take today and beyond to protect our county and state from the impacts of large-scale data center developments.

1. If you live in Mahomet, contact your Board of Trustees and voice your concerns.
2. Join concerned community members and advocates tomorrow (October 3) at 11:30am at the Mahomet Public Library for the Mahomet Data Center Community Meeting—there is power in numbers!
3. Tell your state legislators to pass the POWER Act this veto session. Regulations must be put in place to protect our communities from these developments.

Learn more about how to take these actions and more here: https://prairierivers.org/front-page/2026/10/proposed-data-center-in-mahomet-il-what-were-doing-and-what-you-can-do/

09/29/2026

Streamgages have been protecting our communities for decades—tracking flooding, dry spells, and nitrate levels in waterways among many other things. But this October, three are being taken offline—with more to follow.

Why should this concern you? The problems that these gauges help us monitor aren’t going anywhere; if anything they are becoming more of an issue. 2026 has been one of the most severe weather years on record, according to Illinois’ state climatologist. As flooding events increase with the changing climate, so does the amount of agricultural chemicals reaching our waterways.

“We cannot manage what we don’t measure,” said Robert Hirschfeld, PRN’s Director of Water Policy for the News-Gazette.

Nitrate levels in water are a growing concern, especially in rural America. Earlier this year, the Spoon River gauge recorded a nitrate level of 27.1 mg/L—nearly three times greater than above the federal drinking water standard. Without these critical tools, who is monitoring this growing risk?

You can read more about streamgages, their importance, and what can be done to save them in Hirschfeld’s recent “My Turn” piece in the The News-Gazette.

https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary/my-turn-illinois-needs-more-water-monitoring-not-less/article_180c38da-098d-45ef-8baf-965453fa3901.html

09/26/2026

Happy National Public Lands Day!

Let’s celebrate Illinois’ public lands by appreciating, experiencing, and protecting the places that provide wildlife habitat, clean water, carbon storage, recreation, and connection to nature.

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County to the 289,000-acre Shawnee National Forest, Illinois’ public lands are worth exploring and protecting. Get outside this weekend—hike, birdwatch, fish, picnic, volunteer, or visit somewhere new!

Read our most recent blog diving into Illinois’ public lands and how you can appreciate, experience, and protect these beautiful natural spaces.

Let us know in the comments where your favorite Illinois public land is!

DON’T FORGET: Proposed changes to federal public-land protections could affect millions of acres nationwide, including portions of the Shawnee National Forest. Sign PRN’s petition urging the USDA to maintain the 2001 Roadless Rule. Comments are due October 6.

https://prairierivers.org/front-page/2026/09/its-national-public-lands-day-appreciate-experience-and-protect-our-illinois-public-lands/

09/25/2026

When I say POWER, you say ACT! POWER! ACT!

Today, Prairie Rivers Network attended a protest held by SECS (tag) on the UIUC Campus. For what you may ask? To demand strict regulations on hyperscale data centers in Illinois.

These large data centers are a threat to our water, our energy, and our communities across the state .We must urge our legislators to vote to pass the strongest regulations possible.

TAKE ACTION! Send your legislators a message today through our action alert telling them to pass the POWER Act this veto session.

TELL THEM IN PERSON! Join us in Springfield at the POWER Act Veto Session Lobby Day on November 18th to tell your legislators directly why the strongest regulations possible are important to you. Register today and sign up for a bus coming from your community!

A bit of good news for our national forests—the date to submit public comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (US...
09/24/2026

A bit of good news for our national forests—the date to submit public comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been extended to October 6th. Join the over 650 individuals who have already signed onto our petition to keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect some of the most wild places in our nation’s national forests.

The USDA is proposing to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, which currently protects 44.7 million acres of National Forest System lands—including 10,666 in the Shawnee National Forest.

Without these protections, Shawnee’s roadless areas could face increased road construction, logging, and other industrial activities, which could lead to habitat fragmentation, erosion, spread of invasive species, and impacts to wildlife and endangered species.

Illinois has already lost much of its original forests—making what remains especially important for wildlife, plants, clean water, and recreation.

Sign the petition today to protect not only the Shawnee National Forest, but the roadless areas across the United States.

“We have known that these drift injuries are occurring—they have been for decades—but their severity has really increase...
09/24/2026

“We have known that these drift injuries are occurring—they have been for decades—but their severity has really increased in the most recent ten years.”

How far can agricultural chemicals travel? And what happens when they leave the field?

In a recent episode of Food Sleuth Radio, our Director of Ecological Health, Kim Erndt-Pitcher, talks about the often overlooked impacts of chemical trespass on trees, plants, ecosystems, and public spaces—and why this issue deserves more attention.

Listen to the full episode at the link below, or search for “Food Sleuth Radio” wherever you get your podcasts.
https://foodsleuth.transistor.fm/episodes/kim-erndt-pitcher-prairie-rivers-network-and-pesticide-drift

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