Emiquon to host two presentations about fish and aquatic species

Two public lectures, “Restoring the Thompson Lake Fish Community” and “Aquatic Invasives in the Upper Mississippi River Basin,” will be presented on Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. at the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The first lecture, “Restoring the Thompson Lake Fish Community,” will be presented by Nerissa N. Michaels, Emiquon Project Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy. The program will include an overview of the Thompson Lake/Emiquon history starting from the early 1900s to the present. Additionally, information relevant to the Thompson Lake fish community, including stocking efforts, monthly monitoring and additional research, as well as information pertaining to the Thompson Lake aquatic vegetation community, will be shared.

Greg Sass, director of the Illinois River Biological Station, will present the second lecture, “Aquatic Invasives in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.” Sass will discuss the establishment of aquatic invasive species in the Upper Mississippi River Basin as well as their effects on native species.

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. A map is also available online at: www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or (217) 206-7339.