Kayakers on Chipola River. Photo Credit: Beverly Hill, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/media/kayakers-chipola-river

Animals19. January 2025

We’ve Successfully Saved Two Mussels Species!

Following decades of partnered habitat restoration efforts in the southeastern part of the United States, two species of freshwater mussels may no longer require federal protection.

“Never doubt the passion of conservationists with a common purpose. These mussels are now found in more places in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin and there are more of them,” explains Maureen Walsh, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ACF Coordinator. “We could not restore these species without our partners […] many more like-minded groups.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing both the Chipola slabshell and the fat threeridge – also known as Elliptio chipolaensis and Amblema neislerii, respectively – from the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Stream restoration, bank stabilization projects, and the establishment of Outstanding Florida Waters have contributed to removing or lessening the threats to the two mussels. Therefore, the two species are no longer considered threatened or endangered. The two mussels can be found across the ACF basin, which spans from the state of Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico.

Source:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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