WNIJ News

Together for eagles, arts, and environmental education | Under Rocks podcast

Northern Public Radio | By Spencer Tritt,

Published January 29, 2026 at 8:44 AM CST

It’s been just over a year since Northern Illinois University closed its outdoor education campus high above the Rock River in Oregon, Illinois. While its future is still in limbo, a group called Together for Taft is making progress in its effort to bring it back as an environmental education center. WNIJ’s Under Rocks podcast team stopped by the group’s fundraiser recently, which was held across the river from the shuttered campus.

Dan Libman, Spencer Tritt, and Michael Day aren't spying eagle one at a spot along the Rock River in Ogle County that's usually rife with the majestic bird.

Naturally, for a spot that started as an artist colony called The Eagle’s Nest in 1898, we started off with a little bald eagle watching. Very little bald eagle watching.

Together for Taft is a grassroots not-for-profit founded by Julie Roloff-Bassett in response to the closing of the historic artists' colony/education center. Their mission is to preserve the legacy of the campus and transform it into an international hub for environmental education, with the help of the children it serves. Find Julie's update on the group's progress in the second half of this podcast.

Thanks also to Wayne Schimpff, Michael Day, and Gary Van Buskirk for sharing their expertise with us. And special thanks to Monika Hubble for pitching this story to Under Rocks at rocks@niu.edu.

Under Rocks is produced at Northern Illinois University by WNIJ. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts...and subscribe!