This is the 6th year of monitoring the freshwater mussels with the Upper Sangamon River Conservancy. The weather always plays a role in the events, sometimes delaying things with thunderstorms or high water levels, other times dry periods lowering water levels to allow access to larger stretches of stream bottom. This year, we scheduled four … Continue reading “Sangamon River Mussels, 2026 – 9/5, 9/19, 9/20/2026”
This year is the 5th year of my 10-year freshwater mussel monitoring project. This is an effort to collect, identify, tag, measure, and photograph the diverse group of mussels (see photos above with 4 or 5 species in each tray) living in the Sangamon River in Illinois. While I call it “my” project, there … Continue reading “Mussel Monitoring Project, Year 5 – 8/16-17/2025”
There aren’t many things more fun than spending a day on the water – except maybe a day IN the water. On this lovely Saturday, I convinced Hogan to come with me to a mussel monitoring event in Illinois. I warned Hogan that we would get wet and dirty, but he was still unprepared for … Continue reading “Mussel Monitoring in the Sangamon River – 8/29/2020”