fbpx
friends@therouge.org | 734-927-4900 | Fax: 734-927-4920
2023 Annual Membership Meeting
Wed., April 13, 4-5:30 p.m.
We hope you'll join us [virtually] for this sharing and award announcements – please register.
FOTR staff letting a young girl volunteer see clams
Spring Bug Hunters Needed
Sat. April 15, 2023 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Registration Deadline April 6
Volunteers needed to search for bugs from samples.
FOTR Bug Hunter in the stream
Job Opportunities
We are growing as an organization and expanding the FOTR Team
Come join our FOTR Team! Help us meet our mission and make the Rouge our River Strong. Applications with various deadlines...
Job Opportunities graphic promo
Leave Your Legacy Promo
Explore Planned Giving for Your Hometown River
Chart your legacy for a better River and a better world—for this generation and the next!
FOTR staff letting a young girl volunteer see clams
previous arrow
next arrow

FOTR Happenings

Facebook Posts

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Learn more about FOTR's citizen science efforts through the upcoming Great Lakes Now episode premiering tonight at 7:30pm! Your are also invited to take part in citizen science at the upcoming Spring Bug Hunt on April 15, from 10am-3pm!

Bug Hunt registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScuvSH-JUSxWpepNG526XEewlKmV3vanFQR2lsDiC0CX9o0AA/viewform
... See MoreSee Less

Comment on Facebook

I remember many more sticks in the way.

Great job Sally!

Check out the important findings published by Ecology Center regarding PFAS and the community led webinar on the study results.

In 2022, six anglers who eat fish from the river joined FOTR’s ranks of community scientists when they agreed to collect fish for PFAS testing. These anglers used a hook and line at 15 locations in the Rouge, Huron, and Detroit Rivers to collect one hundred fish as part of a partnership with the Ecology Center and Huron River Watershed Council to test the whole fish for these forever chemicals. Late last month, the Ecology Center released the results of the PFAS testing, and they were sobering, with 100% of the fish tested containing PFAS.

View the full report here: www.ecocenter.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/Fish%20Report%202023%20V2.pdf

Watch the March 16, community led, webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfgRU6QSb
... See MoreSee Less

Check out the important findings published by Ecology Center regarding PFAS and the community led webinar on the study results.

In 2022, six anglers who eat fish from the river joined FOTR’s ranks of community scientists when they agreed to collect fish for PFAS testing. These anglers used a hook and line at 15 locations in the Rouge, Huron, and Detroit Rivers to collect one hundred fish as part of a partnership with the Ecology Center and Huron River Watershed Council to test the whole fish for these forever chemicals. Late last month, the Ecology Center released the results of the PFAS testing, and they were sobering, with 100% of the fish tested containing PFAS.

View the full report here: https://www.ecocenter.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/Fish%20Report%202023%20V2.pdf

Watch the March 16, community led, webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfgRU6QSbImage attachmentImage attachment

Comment on Facebook

thank you for sharing this!

Man-kind will kill the earth 🌎 So step in where you can and help save it !

Hi Friends! The 2022 FOTR Annual Report is hot off the press! Check out the impact you made possible in 2022!😃💙📚

Link to Report: therouge.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/RougeAnnualReport_22_Final-for-web.pdf?blm_aid=1167965193
... See MoreSee Less

Hi Friends! The 2022 FOTR Annual Report is hot off the press! Check out the impact you made possible in 2022!😃💙📚

Link to Report: https://therouge.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/RougeAnnualReport_22_Final-for-web.pdf?blm_aid=1167965193

Thank you for kicking off the 2023 paddling season with Friends of the Rouge at our annual End of Winter Paddle Trip. The year's trip lived up to its name with temperatures in the 20's! 😯 It was still great to see some familiar faces and connect with new friends around the fire! đŸ›¶đŸŒšđŸ”„

If you were not able to join the trip, your next chance to paddle the Rouge will be Saturday, May 13 for the Open Water Spring Birding Paddle Trip, hosted in partnership with Detroit Audubon. You may register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqa5SAk1bOUYmcJSWqmsKr2IiED7Wd8v_3hhj3mngbJYO-0g/viewform.
... See MoreSee Less

Thank you for kicking off the 2023 paddling season with Friends of the Rouge at our annual End of Winter Paddle Trip. The years trip lived up to its name with temperatures in the 20s! 😯 It was still great to see some familiar faces and connect with new friends around the fire! đŸ›¶đŸŒšđŸ”„

If you were not able to join the trip, your next chance to paddle the Rouge will be Saturday, May 13 for the Open Water Spring Birding Paddle Trip, hosted in partnership with Detroit Audubon. You may register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqa5SAk1bOUYmcJSWqmsKr2IiED7Wd8v_3hhj3mngbJYO-0g/viewform.Image attachmentImage attachment+2Image attachment

Comment on Facebook

Will there be more information such as start time and duration? I registered but want to make sure I get the rest of the info in time.

I just registered for the May 13 trip. Hopefully I can paddle by then. I will be a safety boater.

Rick Sowinski... I would have loved to do this!!

👍👍👍

Load more

Rouge Rundown logo

Don’t miss a thing! Read FOTR news you can use in our Rouge Rundown.

Current Weather at FOTR headquarters

Updates affecting our Rain Gardens
Go to Weather Underground... →

Weather Underground logo

Rain Gardens 101

One Water – We Are the Rouge!

READ MORE →

Friends of the Rouge BBB Charity Seal

62,615
rouge rescue
volunteers
1,029
work
sites
101,311
students
educated
63,871
fish
surveyed

Our Services

Friends of the Rouge in ACTION

Rouge Rescue

Rouge Education Project

River Restoration

River Monitoring

Rouge River Water Trail

Our annual river clean up

Since 1986, volunteers have removed large quantities of trash from the river. Public perception shifted from the river as an open sewer and a place to dump trash to its restoration including invasive plants removal, installation of native plantings, and stabilization of stream banks.

Learn more...
School-based environmental education

We involve elementary, middle, and high schools from across southeastern Michigan. Students learn about the Rouge River in class, and then perform hands-on scientific exploration of the river on a field trip to its banks. They are encouraged to take action to restore and protect the river.

Learn more...
How we care for the land

How we care for the land impacts water quality in our local lakes and rivers. The River Restoration program teaches residents of the watershed how to manage their land to improve water quality and to provide wildlife habitat through hands-on projects and educational events.

Learn more...
Residents become citizen scientists

This program engages residents to become citizen scientists, collecting data about the health of the watershed through biological indicator species (bugs, frogs, fish, etc.) that reflect the long-term health of the watershed. As water quality improves, bugs frogs and fish are returning.

Learn more...
Along 29.25 miles of the Lower Rouge

FOTR is currently working with local partners to develop a water trail on 29.25 miles of the Lower Rouge from Canton to the Detroit River. Much of the river corridor is protected within Wayne County Parks, making it ideal for the development of launches and amenities.

Learn more...

Volunteer to Make a Difference

Friends of the Rouge began as a volunteer organization, so volunteerism sits at the core of mission to serve the Rouge River watershed.

Become a Member

Be part of the legacy. Support the vital work we do by helping us meet critical milestones for programs that make a lasting impact of the Rouge River watershed’s health.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Get involved! Support our diverse programs through sponsorships that have the power to make real and lasting change for the health of the Rouge River watershed!

Networking to Build Community

Our community stakeholders, partners, and alliances make our watershed healthier! Thank you to all who make a difference by caring about the Rouge River.

Financial Transparency

We adhere to all federal and state regulations, produce annual financial audits, submit all reporting documents in a timely manner with clear accounting methods and record keeping.

FAQs

Curious about something in the Rouge? We may already have an answer to commonly asked questions regarding our organization or the watershed. Check out our FAQs HERE.

Our Sponsors

  • Margaret Dunning Foundation Logo
  • Gilbert Family Foundation Logo
  • Ralph C. Wilson Jr., Foundation Parks & Trails logo
  • Erb Family Foundation logo
  • Bosch logo
  • Alliance of Rouge Communities
  • Pure Oakland Water logo

Hear Our Voice
We acknowledge …the systemic injustices and pervasive racism that occurs for people of color.
READ MORE…

A Better Rouge For Us All

You care about the Rouge River. Watch how, together, we have been making your river cleaner and more vibrant for the plants and animals, and for the people of Southeast Michigan to enjoy.

Voices for the Rouge

“