95 Obsolete Technologies and Restoration on the Fox River Rylie-Nicole Bozarth The Fox River has a long history of disruption at the hands of humans. Be it the numerous dams built along the 202 mile stretch of the river or the paper mills of the 1950s, the aftereffects of these obsolete technologies are still being felt today. The compounded issue of climate change and the presence of dams have led to lower water quality and levels in recent years. The Clean Water Act of 1972 has proved useful in aiding efforts to improve water quality, but can do little to circumvent the effects of climate change and human expansion on the river. The Fox River is far from being returned to the state from before the industrial revolution, despite efforts from local, state and federal authorities over the past fifty years to enhance water quality. The water quality of the Fox River before the industrialization of the surrounding area is rooted in the history of Native Americans. Before the French came in 1826, the Potawatomi, Sac and Fox tribes had been living off the Fox River for at least 10,000 years. 1 The practice of the Native tribes that inhabited the land allowed the Fox River to remain mostly unsullied by human interaction. Though the structures the Native people used for fishing did change the topography of the river due to river debris getting caught and creating artificial islands, none of their practices harmed the river due to how slowly these changes happened.2 Other practices included only taking what fish were needed seasonally, allowing the river to replenish its population without the need to 1 “Fox River,” historyonthefox, November 1, 2022, https://historyonthefox.wordpress.com/category/fox-river/. 2 “Carping about the Fox River...,” historyonthefox, June 23, 2015, https://historyonthefox.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/carping-about-the-fox-river/.
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