Friends of the Kankakee

11/16/2024

Thanks to Ron, Anne, Ron, Keith and Dennis for lending a hand at the workday. We made great progress at one of the sites that Friends demolished and removed a building earlier this year.
Honeysuckle is on the run!
Good time, doing good work for the natural world.
Future workdays on the third Saturday of the month through this winter.
Hope to see you there.

11/03/2024

Friends of the Kankakee volunteers spent the afternoon preparing some of our property lines for upcoming burns that will be done by the USFWS this spring.
Upcoming winter workdays will be spent restoring oak savanna and preparing more property lines for fire.
Hope you can join us.

11/02/2024

Come on out and see the new infrastructure improvements at Kankakee Sands and celebrate the success of many conservation partners, including the Friends of the Kankakee.

Visit with us this Saturday (November 2) at National Bison day!

We'll have a table set up with information about our May 2025 Native Plant Sale, including the list of plant species we hope to offer and upcoming workdays. Come check it out!

And get this...we still have some remaining plants from this year's sale! We have New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) and Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and we'll offer them at our table. Stop by, say hello, and pick up a plant or two!

10/27/2024

Bush honeysuckle is a nonnative invasive shrub that causes problems in a wide array of natural areas in the Midwest. This time of year, honeysuckle leaves which stay green later than most other plants flag the plants presence well.
On sandy soil sites, like the lands that Friends of the Kankakee protects, young honeysuckle plants can be pulled relatively easily from the ground and controlled without herbicide. I like hanging the pulled plants in trees to ensure the roots dry out and die.
Friends of the Kankakee and the Refuge have regular workdays planned for this winter season, but if those dates and times work for you, and you want to help steward Friends lands, please reach out to us, and we will connect you with opportunities to improve the land, such as pulling bush honeysuckle.
Pictures from a small work effort on Saturday October 26 in Willow Estates at the corner of Willow and Beaver.

09/27/2024

Willow Slough Paddle with NW Indiana Paddling Assn.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Arrival 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area, 1803 S 700 W, Morocco, IN 47963
40°58'22.2"N 87°31'03.9"W

By Chris Light - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Paddle the open waters and marshland of Willow Slough!
The Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, in partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, invites you to paddle on J.C. Murphey Lake. The event is a self-guided tour of the Willow Slough starting and ending at the boat launch near the headquarters. Participants should arrive between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm and return to the launch by 2:00 pm. The paddle is appropriate for paddlers with modest experience and up.
Space and boats are limited, so we invite you to register as soon as you know you plan to attend.

Campsites are available in the park near the launch site. Basic campsites are $12, released on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife at 219.285.2704 with questions.

Please also consider joining the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association or making a donation when you register.
Please do not forget to bring your PFD and paddle! We look forward to seeing you at the event!

We will be announcing our 2024 NWIPA events soon! Emails will come to NWIPA members for NWIPA events approximately 4 weeks prior to the event and about 2 days prior to the general public.
Northwest Indiana Paddling Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to paddler safety education and blueways stewardship.
________________________________________
Copyright © 2024 Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, All rights reserved.

Northwest Indiana Paddling Association
109 West 700 North
Valparaiso, Indiana 46385
US

09/27/2024

The Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission is meeting this morning. Join the meeting through the included links.
https://kankakeeandyellowrivers.org/events/commission-meeting-20/

For those joining tomorrow's Basin Development Commission meeting by videoconference, please know that we're intending to use Microsoft Teams for the first time.

If we run into any technical issues, we'll switch to our old GoToMeeting link as the backup. Just in case, I've included the primary link and the backup link below.

An updated agenda is attached. -SDP

PRIMARY MICROSOFT TEAMS LINK

https://teams.live.com/meet/9384210325953?p=fjEyr2ord64WV8DlQL

BACKUP GOTO LINK

https://meet.goto.com/319606517

Meet whenever you’re ready. Connect on any device, collaborate in real time, and do your best work together, all on GoTo.

09/25/2024

Every two years, the Chicago Wilderness Alliance hosts a Congress to bring together people across the Alliance region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin so we can learn from and inspire each other.

Congress 2024 will be held in Hammond, Indiana on Friday, November 15. We will be hosted by Purdue University Northwest. We are very grateful for their support!

Our theme is Stronger Together--Building A Resilient Region Through Partnerships.

In celebration of that theme, we thank our newest sponsor Chicago Botanic Garden! We truly are stronger together with your support. Thank you for giving to Congress 2024. We can't wait!

If you are interested in sponsoring Congress 2024 along with the Chicago Botanic Garden we encourage you to learn more https://www.chicagowilderness.org/page/Congress2024

Learn more about

09/24/2024

Workday-- Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge & Conservation Area

When: Saturday, October 5th, 2024
Time: 9am-12pm
Where: Refuge parking lot

What are we doing? Time to cut the autumn olive! Hand saws and loppers will be supplied, but if you have a favorite tool, feel free to bring it along!

RSVP: [email protected] or 773-405-7129 by 10/4/2024 at 8am

Thank you,
Anne Hughes-Wagner
Biological Science Tech (Wildlife)
USFWS Kankakee NWRCA
IDNR Kankakee River SP
1 State Park Rd
Bourbonnais, IL 60914
cell: 773-405-7129

04/24/2024

Conservation Workday at the Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge.

Saturday, May 4th, 2024 from 9am-12noon, 513-401 Beaver St, Pembroke Township, IL (41.007139, -87.534832)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/E2wT9YuKjXVy3CwF7

NOTE! We will be meeting on the Willow Estates side of the Refuge and not at the Refuge parking lot and kiosk.

May the Fourth be with you… Come in your favorite Star Wars themed work clothes and choose your side wisely!

We will be cutting the “Imperial” invasive honeysuckle, autumn olive and clearing the understory to make way for the “Rebellious” spring ephemerals to find sunlight!

We do have a lot of open area if you happen to bring your lightsabers in case a jedi duel breaks out 😊

RSVP by Friday May 3
Anne Hughes
[email protected]
773-405-7129

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

04/22/2024

KRB-YRBDC Technical Advisory Committee

Friday, April 26, 2024

10:00 a.m. CDT/11:00 a.m. EDT

Porter County Commissioners Chamber

155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 205

Valparaiso, IN 46383

Join meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687635045

Dial in using phone at 1 (669) 224-3412, Access Code: 687-635-045


PROPOSED AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

II. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 29, 2023, MEETING

IV. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT/FLOOD EVENT REVIEW

V. OLD BUSINESS

a. Flood response planning

b. Update on Kankakee FWA hydraulic study

c. Jasper County FEMA project augmentation

d. Newton County bank improvements

e. Railroad bridge at Schneider

f. State Line Bridge

g. Channel maintenance

VI. NEW BUSINESS

a. Emergent island mitigation on Yellow River

b. Yellow River, Phase IV site selection process

c. Kankakee River boat access assessment

d. Potential managed floodwater storage locations

VII. OTHER BUSINESS

VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT

IX. SELECTION OF NEXT MEETING DATE

X. ADJOURNMENT
--

https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4yZ3GiAxLmGTV-MJIMT-x1hcklwqTWKr-QGm4J47LXlMZ5KE_klj-46bPVMp5qpOAnBoTgwC9DU-Jh5

Scott D. Pelath
Executive Director
Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission
c: (219) 861-7999
Mail: 460 Lincolnway, Suite 322, Valparaiso, IN 46384