St.
Joseph Creek The St. Joseph Creek and its tributaries are
some of the best quality streams in the Bean Creek Watershed. Many species of
freshwater mussels have been identified where the stream flows through Wetland
Reserve property near Beecher Rd -- Fat mucket clams (Lampsilis siliquoidea/radiata/uteola;
Kidney shell clam (Ptychobanchus fasciolaris); Fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae);
Squawfoot clam (Strophitus undulatus).
Pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) with large tropical leaves and edible
fruit, sometimes called the Michigan banana, grow in colonies in the floodplain.
The small native American brook lamprey (Lampetra appendix, not the invasive
sea lamprey) spawns in the gravel streambeds each April for just a few days. The
spawning days, usually April 14-16, have become a holiday for watershed workers,
with tours to the stream.
Pawpaw leaves;
pawpaw fruit (ripe in October);American brook lampreys in St. Joseph Cr (April
15, 2003)
