Summer 1998

[TEXT ARCHIVE WEB-PUBLISHED MARCH 2002.
ORIGINAL PRINT PUBLICATION DATE: SUMMER 1998.]

Hoffman Dam River Rats: Reversing the river of no return

By Eugene Bender

Late in March of 1996, Chicago Police Officer Jason Gorski stood knee deep in the Des Plaines River, fishing pole poised just below the Hoffman Dam where the river flows through the western suburb of Riverside. He was dubious about this dirty river, but he figured wading through the frigid waters of early spring would give his bum ankle the cold-pack therapy he needed for ligaments torn and cartilage ripped while on duty.

But when the first fish caught hold of his line, nature caught hold of him.

Gorski reeled in a walleye pike, a species prized by sport fishermen, from a river so badly degraded that it should only have supported rough fish like carp. Prior to this visit, he had seen everything from raw sewage to car parts float past as he walked by this stretch of river. The walleye, he decided, was just a passing fluke. Before long, he reeled in three more. After decades of mistreatment, this river was gasping back to life.

"Something inside me said I had to do something to protect it," Gorski says now. "So I adopted it. It became personal."

So personal that Gorski recruited 1,000 people to sign a petition to save the river, prompting the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to declare the Des Plaines River a special management zone, imposing restrictions designed to preserve populations of highly desirable, native sport fish like small- and large-mouth bass.

To help enforce those regulations, Gorski founded the Hoffman Dam River Rats, a club that now coordinates 200 amateur volunteers who work with DNR biologists to restore and enhance the fisheries and spawning grounds of the river. To ensure that their work is not ruined by more pollution, the River Rats also keep an eye on the 20 businesses that are still allowed to dump waste into the river. Eventually they hope to get the river's standard raised to prevent any further dumping of contaminants.

"Due to the pollution, fish still display disfigurements like sores, cancers, and fin deformations," Gorski says. "And the spawning habitat had been destroyed for years and years."

IDNR biologists Bob Rung and Steve Pescitelli have taught the River Rats to take a multi-angle approach to their project — from clean-up, to habitat restoration, to pollution prevention.

Every April and October, the River Rats sponsor a clean-up along the banks and down the middle of the Des Plaines, between Riverside Lawn and Riverside. So far, they have hauled out fifteen 55-gallon drums, numerous bicycles, folding chairs, rods and reels, firehoses, housing insulation, chain link fencing, tires, and a few bank safes. A 300-gallon heating oil tank remains submerged because they haven't figured out yet how to lift it.

Last fall they began an effort to stabilize the riverbanks by planting 1,600 native plants known as lizard's tails. This spring they poked more holes in mud along the banks and plugged in 1,000 blue flag iris. Next year they plan to plant 20,000 more aquatics, all raised from native stock. The restoration species list will expand to include waterwillow, bur reed, sweet flag, and buttonbush. In the surrounding forest preserves, the River Rats clear away impenetrable non-native undergrowth so that light can reach the plantings and so one of the region's other species — those of the human kind — are more likely to visit. The wide field of view also allows them to patrol for poachers.

With Rung and Pescitelli as mentors, the River Rats do most of the biological grunt work of data collection — catching, counting, monitoring, and measuring fish, aquatic insects, and other macroinvertebrates. Because each species has its own specific tolerance rating for pollution, they use the data to assess changes in the healthiness of the river.

And, Rung says, the grades are improving. In 1983, the river's Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) averaged 27, resulting in a 'D' rating. Last year the IBI increased to 36, giving the river a 'C'.

The fish count is even more encouraging. In 1983, 1,008 fish, 32 species in all were collected. In 1997, volunteers collected 3,374 fish, 40 species in all, with an increase in native species, and a decrease in rough species. In that same time period, numbers of northern pike went from three to 24; walleye from zero to six; and large-mouth bass, a native species more tolerant of pollution, from 49 to 91. Small-mouth bass, a species very intolerant to siltation and habitat degradation, increased from one to 54. The river is breathing once again.

Gorski says, "The fish are struggling. We need to respect them and give them a chance to survive." This is one police officer who extends his beat to the natural world, which he'll serve and protect.

River Rats meetings are open to the public and held at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month. Drop by 27 Riverside Road in Riverside Township, or call Jason Gorski or Howard Brundage at (773) 585-4004.