Mike Clifford

Have any of you boated the Calumet River? The factories along the stretch near Lake Calumet dump anything and everything into it. The banks have indescribable stuff slipping and sliding right into the water. The smallmouth fishing is quite good, remarkably. I was astonished the first time I saw this industrial pollution happening so blatantly in a major city. The powers that be just laugh it off. You learn to fish the stuff like "structure". There's a smallie behind every broken bag of rock salt or half-skid of Quickrete that slid down the hill.

That's awesome. Hope it's about enforcing the laws in IL regarding rivers and streams.

Scott, Norm, Dick, John and myself gathered for breakfast, then headed out to the river on a cold and snowy November morning to update signs and pick up trash. Plenty of work was done, with more to come in the spring. Thanks for coming out and for all your efforts!! Complete photo album- https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153330357874196.1073741826.338777659195&type=1

THANKS, ERIC!!!! Great work!!

Yep- Sunday it is.

Scott is right.....most are wooden posts. Maybe update the Rock Creek access trail signs as well.

I already posted the 16th!! I'm out of town on Saturday..... Not going to stop you boys either way....be my guest, by all means. From the first post in the thread- SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th KANKAKEE RIVER Breakfast will be at Baker's Square in Bradley (Rt. 50 and Armor Rd.) at 8:00 a.m. We'll do a quick sweep of the State Park and Warner Bridge areas and split into teams as necessary. Bags will be provided by the ISA

Thanks so much for representing! Proud to have people like you aboard. But you didn't say what was for dinner....?

Thanks, Norm. It dawned on me that I may need to contact the park super on this, but if we're bringing our trash elsewhere, I'm not sure what the point is? Perhaps I should let her know, regardless.....

Over the next few weeks, we are putting together year-end river clean-ups and sign postings for all of our Regions. Please stay posted and respond in this thread and/or the email notice you will be receiving regarding these outings. The specifics are as follows: 1) BREAKFAST FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS BEFORE THE OUTING The ISA would like to show it's appreciation for the volunteer efforts of our Members. We will meet at local restaurants close to our work location. Bring your appetite... we're buying!! 2) CLEAN-UP LOCATIONS The location of your work detail will be decided by Regional Coordinators with input from the participants. There is flexibility here, dependent on the number of workers and locations of dumpsters, etc. 3) SIGN POSTINGS We typically post and supplement our Catch and Release signs in the spring, though we're already certain there are some that need attention that we'd like to take care of while our volunteers are out and active among these streams. 4) PHOTOGRAPHS!! This is an important aspect of our efforts this year, as we have a commitment to the IEPA to provide a follow-up of our accomplishments. I NEED every photo your group can muster, especially those along the riverbanks. Our first officially scheduled event is as follows: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th KANKAKEE RIVER Breakfast will be at Baker's Square in Bradley (Rt. 50 and Armor Rd.) at 8:00 a.m. We'll do a quick sweep of the State Park and Warner Bridge areas and split into teams as necessary. Bags will be provided by the ISA and will be brought to the dumpster next to the concession building. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT TO VOLUNTEER A FEW HOURS FOR YOUR CLUB ON THIS DAY!! Regional Coordinators- Please set a date for your region and ADD your event to this thread!

I'll set up an official thread for this shortly.

*BUMP*

Did you manage to pick up some trash while fishing this year and snap a photo or two? I LOVE these kinds of photos and would like to see them. PLEASE send them to me. mikeclifford2@gmail.com Or a private message here, or a response with an attachment.....whatever it takes. I just love to see anglers picking up trash!! Can you help me out here?

That's a great turnout, and even greater numbers of fish! Seeing the H.S. fishing teams get some impressive looking smallies.

Bunch of hippies with all that hair....except me, of course. High School to 2014 Blowout to today. What a long strange trip it's been!

I had the great pleasure of attending the Illinois Conservation Foundation's "Gala Under the Stars" on Saturday with Eric. The 20th Anniversary dinner featured awards for the IL Outdoors Hall of Fame, of which our dear friend Dan Basore was a recipient. Dan gave a very heart-felt speech and got a standing ovation! There aren't many opportunities to see so many familiar faces in conservation gathered in one place, so I was awestruck and humbled to be among them on this night. Too many to name, for fear of leaving anyone out. Keynote speaker Rob Keck spoke about getting youth involved in the outdoors, and the room hung on every word. I think if I had to sum up the evening in one word, it would be "respect". The place was full of dinosaurs who have devoted their lives to the cause, and continue to do so to this day. Left to right in the photo: Dan Basore, Eric, Marc Miller and myself.

An event very dear to my heart. I regret that we couldn't make it out this year due to family issues. To say that I'm proud of Craig and all of our volunteers for making this happen would be an understatement. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thank you for mentoring to our next generation of conservationists and protectors of all we hold dear. Memories to last a lifetime for many....

The bio doesn't begin to explain fully the attributes of our dear friend. If you were to get to know Dan, you would come to know that he is one of the true genuine people we meet in life. A truly remarkable person. CONGRATS.....and a well deserved honor, my friend.

I will be attending the event with my son on Sat. morning.....do we need more rods in the rotation? I have quite a few available (mostly near brand new Zebcos). Let me know!

It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great.....

That's a GREAT video. I strongly suggest people take a few minutes to see that.

Michael had a blast enjoying his first ever kayak expedition!! This was in Moraine View State Park over the weekend.

I'll take the canned pickles if they don't want 'em!

Awesome video and a great volunteer effort. Thanks everyone for your hard work!!!

Please be sure to check your emails for a reminder on this and hit the SHARE button to forward to others you think may be interested. THANKS!!!