10/03/2026
Indiana Dunes National Park Celebrates Major Native Mussel Restoration Milestone
Made Possible by funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
[PORTER, Ind.] — Indiana Dunes National Park today announced a significant achievement in native species recovery and aquatic ecosystem restoration. At a celebratory event held at the historic Good Fellow Lodge, park scientists and partners marked the release of more than 1,600 individually tagged fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) mussels into the East Branch of the Little Calumet River (EBLCR)—the first cohort fully propagated and grown to subadult size entirely in house at the park’s Dunes Mussel Propagation Laboratory.
These mussels represent years of innovation in freshwater mussel propagation. Beginning as larval parasites known as glochidia, the mussels were transformed in controlled laboratory culture to the juvenile filter feeding stage, then “grown out” under natural river conditions until reaching 20–30 mm, the size considered suitable for successful reintroduction.
“This release marks an extraordinary step forward in restoring a keystone species that once thrived in the watershed,” said park staff at the event. “Native mussels are critical to river health, and their return signals a new chapter of ecological recovery in the Little Calumet River.”
A Long Term Commitment to Restoration
The release is the culmination of nearly a decade of resource management work to develop both laboratory and field based methods for reliably transforming and rearing native mussels at scale. By creating a full propagation “toolkit,” Indiana Dunes National Park is working to rebuild self sustaining mussel populations using species historically found in the EBLCR.
While biodiversity restoration is a core component of the National Park Service mission, the project gained momentum because of the strong potential for watershed scale ecosystem benefits. As filter feeding organisms, mussels improve water quality, stabilize sediments, enhance nutrient cycling, and support diverse aquatic communities.
The park anticipates direct ecological improvements from mussel reintroduction, including:
• Improved water quality
• Reduced pathogen levels (e.g. E. coli)
• Enhanced instream nutrient cycling
Greater bioturbation of streambed sediments creating healthier instream habitat
In essence, Indiana Dunes National Park is advancing river restoration through scientifically grounded and scalable methods for native mussel reintroduction.
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A Vision for the Future
Each mussel released today carries an individual identification tag. Over the coming years, resource managers will conduct targeted surveys to evaluate growth, survival, movement, and eventual reproduction. The long term goal is to establish thriving mussel beds capable of supporting healthy river ecosystems for generations.
“Healthy rivers need mussels,” staff noted. “Today’s milestone moves us closer to restoring the biological integrity of one of Northwest Indiana’s most important waterways.”
The park wants to remind the public that handling and collecting native mussels or even their shells is strictly prohibited by law in the State of Indiana. If you come upon a native mussel, do not pick it up, handle it, or move it. Mussels are extremely fragile and can easily be killed from being handled or placed in the sediment incorrectly.
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About Indiana Dunes National Park
Indiana Dunes National Park protects more than 15,000 acres of dunes, forests, wetlands, and rivers along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The park is a leader in Great Lakes ecological research and restoration, working to conserve the region’s natural heritage through science driven stewardship.
For more information about native mussel restoration or upcoming public programs, visit nps.gov/indu.
