flowers by the river2 by CGAphoto

Jennifer Slosar of The Chi-Town Daily News wrote a great story today about the Ecology of the River canoe trip offered by Friends of the Chicago River.

The descriptions of the flora and fauna she encountered are delightful:

Heading downriver, the group saw signs of wildlife, both striking and subtle. A huge green frog with a bright gold throat peered out placidly from a rocky bank at passersby. Parson pointed out a cotton wood tree whose trunk had been girdled by beavers....

Golden rod, purple cone flower (echinacea), and cup flowers line the banks, adding a decorative touch to a hardy, drought-resistant layer of vegetation. Thick-ridged cotton trees, willow, and silver maple hang over the river. Their falling leaves provide organic matter that supports the river's increasingly diverse aquatic life.

This morning's survey of Chicago River news was fun...

"Ever since the late 1800s, Chicagoans often referred to the Chicago River as a stinky, wet alley."
I've always thought of it as a wet, chocolatey alley.

"Both women had worn skirts."
Re: two ladies who are unhappy about the mosquito bites they received dining outdoors at Japonais, a fashionable sushi spot on the Chicago River at Chicago Avenue.

"The Chicago River has two sides."
'nuff said.

As I wrote in my story today, it would be really bad if asian carp got into the Great Lakes. They're an invasive species that feeds on plankton, the tiny stuff at the very bottom of the food chain, threatening native fish populations.

They're also a threat to a non-native lake dweller: the jet-skier.

When silver carp are disturbed, they'll jump several feet out of the water and can smack boaters in the face or knock them off their jet ski. Really. Huge, goofy looking, tasty carp are flying out of the water and breaking people's noses. (Bighead carp, the other invasive species of asian carp coming up the Mississippi river system don't jump, they're just ugly.)

Check it out!

Not crazy enough for you? Need more?!? The Asian invasion has spawned a new sport: Aerial bowfishing!!!

Turn up the volume for this one. Be sure to catch the night bow fishing with glowing arrows at the 1:10 mark. OMG. WTF.

As I wrote in my story today, cleaning up the river after last Monday's monster thunderstorms was a serious task.  The Department of Streets and Sanitation pulled over 21,000 pounds of debris from the river in the three days following the storm, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District barely recovered from massive equipment failures in their efforts that night.

Both groups had boats on the river last week, cleaning up debris at Wolf Point, where the North and South Branches of the river meet.  It's a focal point of cleanup work because debris swept into the river tends to collect at the confluence.

These videos of the boats were shot last Wednesday morning, the second day after the storm.

Workers aboard the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's pontoon boat scoop flotsam from the Chicago River at Wolf Point.



The Department of Streets and Sanitation's new boat, DSS Two, oxegenates the water while it eats up debris.

Chicken wire lines the perimeter of the Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel to keep out undesireable tenants like geese.

The Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel was floated up river and moored on the south side of the Chicago River between Dearborn and State Streets.  A project of the Friends of the Chicago River, it will give fish and other aquatic wildlife homes on a stretch of the river with no natural bank or shade trees.

This is the fourth season the hotel will float on the river.  This year marks the addition of a submerged island made from coconut bedding planted with underwater flora, according to Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends.  Each year they have adapted the hotel with what they've learned.

Friends will be putting up a website about the hotel soon!  Stay tuned to the Chicago River Blog for more details!  For now, here's a video and some pictures of my new favorite lodging:

The fish hotel bobs in the wake of passing boats.

Tucked in the corner formed by Dearborn Street and the Riverwalk, the hotel rides waves by sliding up and down on its red moorings.


For a close up view, hop on a water taxi, or take the stairs down to the Riverwalk and grab some ribs.  Deelish!