Down Chicago’s Drain

A news release from the Lake County Forest Preserve reports that ecologists have discovered tiny freshwater shrimp in the Des Plaines river. The shrimp were collected last summer but only recently identified as Mississippi grass shrimp. The presence of these critters seems to indicate that the river water is getting cleaner, less murky and able to support the underwater vegetation the shrimp eat.

In an interesting article in OnEarth magazine, Matthew Power summarizes the challenges facing the future of the Chicago River and the city of Chicago. From the massive project to complete the Deep Tunnel, to the push to clean the wastewater flowing into the river, to the invasive legions of Asian Carp coming upstream, will the river emerge from these challenges cleaner and more vibrant than before?