Exceptions Threaten Habitat Protections for East Coast Mussels.
Responding to a petition and lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today listed the round hickorynut and longsolid freshwater mussels as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The agency also set aside 2,136 river miles of critical habitat from Pennsylvania to Mississippi.
“North America’s freshwater mussels filter pollution out of our waterways and support aquatic life, but they’re being clobbered by the extinction crisis,” said Perrin de Jong, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Ensuring these mussels survive and recover will mean people and wildlife have cleaner water and more resilient ecosystems.”
Today’s Fish and Wildlife Service action includes a rule that allows exceptions to the ban on intentional and incidental killing or harming the mussels for logging projects that follow state forestry “best management practices.”
“Relying on logging best management practices won’t protect imperiled mussels from extinction and habitat loss,” said de Jong. “Logging practices vary widely from state to state and the Service hasn’t defined who’s responsible for ensuring that loggers actually follow these rules when they log mussel habitat. These critters need real protection, not just words on a page.”
The Center and allies petitioned for protection of the mussels in 2010 and filed a lawsuit in 2019 to enforce a deadline for a decision on their protection.
The once common longsolid has lost 63% of its populations, and only three out of 60 surviving populations are considered to have a high chance of survival. The round hickorynut has lost 78% of its populations, and only four of 65 current populations are ranked as having high resiliency.
Mussels improve water quality by filtering small particles from the water as they eat and breathe. They reproduce by making lures that looks like fish, crayfish or worms. When their host fishes attempt to prey upon the lures, the mussels release their fertilized eggs onto the fish’s gills. Juvenile mussels develop on the gills before dropping off to begin life on their own and start cleaning the water that fish need to survive.
Struggling Freshwater Mussels Protected Under Endangered Species Act
Responding to a petition and lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today listed the round hickorynut and longsolid freshwater mussels as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The agency also set aside 2,136 river miles of critical habitat from Pennsylvania to Mississippi.
“North America’s freshwater mussels filter pollution out of our waterways and support aquatic life, but they’re being clobbered by the extinction crisis,” said Perrin de Jong, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Ensuring these mussels survive and recover will mean people and wildlife have cleaner water and more resilient ecosystems.”
Today’s Fish and Wildlife Service action includes a rule that allows exceptions to the ban on intentional and incidental killing or harming the mussels for logging projects that follow state forestry “best management practices.”
“Relying on logging best management practices won’t protect imperiled mussels from extinction and habitat loss,” said de Jong. “Logging practices vary widely from state to state and the Service hasn’t defined who’s responsible for ensuring that loggers actually follow these rules when they log mussel habitat. These critters need real protection, not just words on a page.”
The Center and allies petitioned for protection of the mussels in 2010 and filed a lawsuit in 2019 to enforce a deadline for a decision on their protection.
The once common longsolid has lost 63% of its populations, and only three out of 60 surviving populations are considered to have a high chance of survival. The round hickorynut has lost 78% of its populations, and only four of 65 current populations are ranked as having high resiliency.
Mussels improve water quality by filtering small particles from the water as they eat and breathe. They reproduce by making lures that looks like fish, crayfish or worms. When their host fishes attempt to prey upon the lures, the mussels release their fertilized eggs onto the fish’s gills. Juvenile mussels develop on the gills before dropping off to begin life on their own and start cleaning the water that fish need to survive.
Struggling Freshwater Mussels Protected Under Endangered Species Act