Jacques Hooymans, Sue and Eric Edberg took a tour of the DuPage Forest Preserve’s Clam and Dragon Fly propagation facility in Blackwell Forest Preserve. We learned how the staff are propagating native clams to keep populations stable and how Dragon Fly’s are grown.
The tour was interesting in that we learned that clams depend on, and initially grow attached to, the gills of fish for a couple months before they drop off and continue to grow. This facility normally grows a new crop of clams each year using fish caught in the local streams. They are release at then end of the year if growth permits. The fish are also released at the end of the year too.