121 American River’s endangerment designation, and some funding for it was national with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funding this report. Local government evidently agreed with the findings, as Fox River had no new dams built after this 2003 report. Without the national attention generated by the designation, this investigation may not have been possible. The endangerment designation allowed Friends of the Fox to find that construction of dams needed to be halted as soon as possible. Growth of urban development and population around the Fox River caused increasing flood risk for the Fox River. The 2003 state of the Fox River report stated that “increasing the amount of impermeable surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and rooftops of buildings delivers more floodwaters to the Fox and its tributaries.”3 Effectively, building surfaces like parking lots that do not absorb water well led to the Fox River having higher velocity streams and increased volume. This leads to corrosion of stream banks and destabilization of the river. Friends of the Fox was aware of this issue but finding funding to purchase lots of wetlands wasn’t possible before the designation. The designation was successful in securing this funding. Friends of the Fox received funding from multiple sources in 2003, with the Wayne Village Board committing funding to the Fox River Study Group from both the Wayne Village Board and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.6 The designation of Fox River as the 7th most endangered river in America was effective in gaining publicity and saving the Fox River. As previously discussed, Friends of the Fox River has grown massively since the designation. Additionally, their efforts have proven effective. Fox River did not become polluted, and its biodiversity has been protected. More dams have not been 6David Sharos, “Fox River Cleanup Efforts Reflect 'a Trend to Celebrate,' Expert Says,” Chicago Tribune (Chicago Tribune, May 22, 2019), https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-abn-fox-river-update-st0114-story.html.
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