Mussels take up new life in DuPage River

It wasn't exactly majestic, like one of those times when an eagle has recovered from its injuries and is released back into the wild and soars away over the treetops.

But while the release of hundreds of freshwater mussels into the West Branch of the DuPage River near Warrenville may have lacked drama, forest preserve officials say the tiny creatures could have a long-lasting impact on the environmental health of the river by taking in large amounts of water and filtering out bacteria, algae or decaying plant or animal matter before passing clean water back into the river.

Saturday morning's release was one of many that will take place over the next six months that aim to place roughly 9,000 mussels into the river with the goal of improving water quality and giving new hope to an endangered species.

Experts at the DuPage Forest Preserve District's Urban Stream Research Center spent the past 2½ years working to raise the freshwater mussels at a facility in Blackwell's Forest Preserve in Warrenville.

They cultivated three species native to DuPage and what they lack in size they make up for in colorful names - the plain pocketbook mussel, the fat mucket mussel and the white heelsplitter mussel.

Native freshwater mussel populations have been declining for a number of reasons, officials say, including sedimentation, stormwater runoff, chemicals, pollutants and competition from invasive species such as the zebra mussel.

Officials hope the new additions will augment and bolster the existing populations. Mussels ultimately will be released at a dozen locations along a 13-mile stretch of the West Branch between Gary's Mill Road in Warrenville and 87th Street in Naperville.