Open house at Urban Stream Research Center

Area residents can see firsthand how ecologists are working to protect the region's watersheds and raise common and endangered aquatic species at an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's Urban Stream Research Center at Blackwell Forest Preserve near Warrenville.

Visitors can meet some of the crayfish, mussels, insects and fish that call the county's waterways home and see how ecologists are raising federally endangered Hine's emerald dragonflies, state-endangered Blanding's turtles and freshwater mussels at the center.

The five most-imperiled and vulnerable species in the United States are all freshwater aquatic organisms, and freshwater mussels are at the top of the list.

Admission is free for the all-ages open house. Visitors can reach the Urban Stream Research Center from Blackwell's Butterfield Road entrance. For information, call (630) 206-9626.

"This is a great opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at what we do at the Urban Stream Research Center and find out more about aquatic species native to DuPage County," said Forest Preserve District Commissioner Al Murphy, District 6.

At the center, which opened in 2012 and is the only one of its kind in Illinois, ecologists research water quality, stream habitats and aquatic species and work to augment populations of native freshwater mussels and nongame fish once historically abundant in the Des Plaines River watershed.

They also partner with local conservation groups, universities and other institutions on collaborative and applied-research work in these same areas.

The forest district manages more than 1,000 acres of aquatic habitats, including lakes, streams and rivers flowing through DuPage County's forest preserve boundaries. As part of its conservation mission, the district seeks to develop solutions for stream-restoration practitioners toward improving the physical, chemical and biological health of urban stream systems in the county.

The Urban Stream Research Center building and aquaria, which are normally closed to the public, were funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and in partnership with DuPage County Stormwater Management.